Who Needs A Knight When You Have A Freaking Dragon
by ReturntoZero1
Summary: Prince Dipper isn't the fighting type, so his parents end up scouting for knights all across the continent to see which is best fit to protect him. Too bad the dragon they left Dipper with is doing a pretty good job of making sure no one gets past. Warnings: Gore, Violence, Magic, Etc, Onesided Gideon/Dipper, Mabel/Pacifica, Dipper/OC, Dipper/Bill
1. So our story begins

**Warnings: Gore, Violence, Magic, Etc**

 **Pairings: Onesided Gideon/Dipper, Mabel/Pacifica, Dipper/OC, Dipper/Bill**

 **Tags: Fairytale AU, Yaoi, Romance, Semi Onesided Romances, The usual**

Chapter 1: So Our Story Begins

Gravity Falls Kingdom was full of surprises.

The current King and Queen had managed to be blessed with not only a daughter but a son on the same day, which the oracle had noted would be a sign of prosperity and good fortune.

Raising twins was difficult though, and the pair were now coming of age to marry and come into power. They hadn't been worried for their daughter, since she had been aware of this fact and used her vibrancy and extroversion to not only attract suitors but to win the hearts of her people. She had no problem making speeches and expressing her feelings, only adding to her genuine nature.

Mabel refused to be a damsel in distress though, taking up sword fighting and horseback riding so she could defend her kingdom if needed. Her expertise in combat eventually caught the eye of the Northwests, whose daughter requested to have Mabel's services. It was clear that she was also impressed with the girl herself, since her stares became tinged with affection and love. She only laughed as Mabel scrunched her nose at the puzzle given to her, clearly straining to come up with the solution.

While Mabel might not have been the best academically, Dipper was a genius. He had solved many problems that plagued the town, wanting to continuously improve their tools and trying to create a more detailed map of their land. The boy also had a knack for being detail oriented and fluent in his vocabulary, making sure the laws and treaties that passed him were fine-tuned to perfection. He even dabbled in recording the magical creatures that resided in Gravity falls, picking up in his grandfather's footsteps.

Dipper hadn't learned any of the combat his sister did, so his parents feared for his safety as their daughter would soon leave for the Northwest Castle. He adamantly refused any lessons, only taking the most basic defense moves from his sister who threatened to steal all his books and toss them into the lake if he didn't comply.

It seemed the twins were better suited to make up for the others faults, yet they could not deny the need to learn how to come into adulthood and all it entailed. The King and Queen noticed Mabel seemed to be more clear on her path, but Dipper might have needed some nudging to get him in the right direction.

"Hell no." Dipper glowered, his body poised upright and stiff at the suggestion.

"There is no way I'm going to set up a tournament to get a bodyguard slash possible romantic interest."

His parents sighed, trying to reason with the younger twin, "It'll be over quickly! Gideon will just pay off everyone and demand to have my hand in marriage again!" He cringed at the memory, thankfully his sister had attacked him at that very moment, proving her superiority in the art of fighting.

His mother nodded, clearly not wanting a repeat of that horrid event, "Well, maybe we can try to test the knights in another way? Like through a quest?" Dipper still wasn't on board with the idea, but he seemed to at least consider it.

His mother scrambled to find a suitable answer, all too aware of how thin Dipper's patience was wearing, "Yes! A quest that would involve collecting magical items, or deal with lore! So that they could be tested not only physically but also see how their wits match up."

Dipper stood very still for a few moments, imagining the gain from giving out such a task, even if he really didn't care for the end goal. He sighed, "That...doesn't sound too bad. I could even make some puzzles myself to test them." His parents wholeheartedly agreed, if they managed to get Dipper to agree then they could rest easier. It was for his own good after all, since he wasn't interested in fending for himself.

"We should begin sending invitations, " his father began, giving the slightest of smiles, "Maybe you could even have the last event being somewhat of a game of hide and seek. You could send a riddle that will reveal your location, and that'll be when you can accept or decline their offer."

Dipper nodded, thrilled at the idea of being able to use his wits to weed out the competition. Having a dumb fighter wouldn't do at all, he wanted to be able to talk to them and have a decent acquaintanceship with them. (He also sort of hoped that he could grow to be close to them, _not that he would admit that_.)

Alas the plan to find Dipper's guardian and fighter began, his parents allowing him to take as much control of the event as he needed, since this was to ensure his safety and happiness after all. The prince was buzzing with excitement, using all his talents to create the most complex riddle he could conjure. It was going along swimmingly, that is until the news reached Mabel and Grunkle Stan.

Grunkle Stan was the retired King, still upholding a place in royalty despite his grumpiness and tasteless-jokes. Combining these traits with Mabel's randomness made even demons from hell shudder in fear.

"So the boy is gonna find a tower to go stand in and wait for his knight in shining armor?"

Grunkle Stan fell into a fit of laughs, wiping the tears prickling the corners of his eyes, "Yeah! Just like a damsel in distress in the old fairy-tales. All he needs is a dragon and this'll be another cliche love-story!"

Mabel joined her Grunkle in his laughter, shaking her head and clutching her sides as they continued to tease the younger twin about the situation.

Dipper's cheeks flared red as he tried (and failed) to bury his anger, "Whatever, this isn't a love-story, it's a quest for them. This isn't anything like those stories, since I'm actually issuing a challenge. Not just some 2-dimensional bullshi-"

"Language, Dipper." Grunkle's tone left no room for arguing.

The prince huffed and puffed out his chest, "I'm not that much of a weakling, I do have magic on my side you know."

Mabel made a noise with her lips, waving him off, "But you need magical items and tomes to use that stuff. If you didn't have those then you'd be totally defenseless."

Dipper refused to admit that she was right, instead ignoring her comment and continuing his writing, "Whatever. I'd pick brains over brawn any day."

Once the moment blew over the twins set off to their usual adventuring, knowing that their time together was growing short. It was best to spend it wisely and not waste it on fighting.

 ** _Author's Note:_** ** _Another AU that is fucking bothering me like no other. I hope y'all liked it! Comments and kudos mean so much to me, so if you wanna see more you know what to do._**


	2. Whose idea was it to bring a dragon here

**Warnings: Gore, Violence, Magic, Etc**

 **Pairings: Onesided Gideon/Dipper, Mabel/Pacifica, Dipper/OC, Dipper/Bill**

 **Tags: Fairytale AU, Yaoi, Romance, Semi Onesided Romances, The usual**

Chapter 2: Whose idea was it to bring a dragon here?

Mabel accompanied her brother to the tower he would reside in during the challenge, allowing their parents to make the announcement to the kingdom to officially begin the quest. She stared at the grand structure, her eyes glimmered as she clasped her hands together, "Just like a fairytale." In doing so she had dropped the chest she was carrying for Dipper, seeing as they had to walk to their destination to avoid having too many people know about the tower.

Dipper groaned, wiping his brow and readjusting the (smaller) chest he was carrying, "Not even. It's a death tower Mabel, these things were used for torture before we had the place renovated." The pair noticed only two people waiting for them at the door; the long-time family-friend Soos and another brave knight of their kingdom known as Wendy.

"Hey, where's Grunkle?" Mabel began, picking up the chest easily and bringing it over to the entrance, seeing Dipper get a bracelet out and watching in awe as he pulled out a hidden key from it.

"He didn't say, all he told us was not to follow him and that he had a surprise for you Dip." Wendy smiled, ruffling Dipper's hair and rising a blush from him, "Are you excited about the challenge?" He laughed, "Yeah, hopefully we can get someone worthy to be able to serve us."

(Dipper often wondered why Wendy couldn't be his guard, but his parents insisted that she was much needed in the city. He also was a bit disheartened to hear she had already been planning her engagement.)

Soos quickly enveloped the twins in a hug, "Oh prince and princess, I am going to miss both of you so much. Remember to write to ol' Soos, will ya?" The twins unanimously agreed, reassuring Soos that they would make sure to send him letters as often as they could.

During their goodbyes Grunkle Stan seemed to appear out of nowhere, coughing and standing awkwardly to the side (he had never been very good with emotional situations, much less Soos' emotional situations).

He quickly adjusted, straightening as he approached Dipper, keeping one arm hidden behind his back, "Dipper, I hope when the time comes you will know how to make the right choice. Don't settle for nothing but the best for you." Dipper nodded, understanding that this was probably the most affection he would see from his Grunkle. With a hard pat on the back he finally brought his other hand forward, "Here you go, kiddo."

The prince accepted the gift, carefully bringing it into his hands as he inspects it. Various golden chains, bracelets and bangles gleamed in his palms, proving their worth and easily captivating him. He ran a gentle finger across the engravings, noticing the precise and elegant foreign lettering and feeling a shiver of thrill run through him.

Dipper smiled and quickly closed his hand around them, turning to his Grunkle, "Thanks Grunkle...They're gorgeous." The brunette also had an inkling that there was something more to the jewelry, internally hoping that they were magical in some way.

His Grunkle nodded and opened his mouth to say something, only for a screech to rip through the air.

They were eclipsed in a large shadow, a beast high in the air blocking the sun from reaching their skin. The ladies immediately went into a defensive stance, trying to stay calm as the beast finally looked down upon them.

Another deafening roar slashed through them, only to be followed by a large quake-

The beast landed next to the castle, huffing smoke from its nostrils as it prepared to incinerate the area. The five scurried to find shelter, and Dipper quickly looked back at the beast-

Golden scales gleamed in the sunlight, wings spanning nearly to the tips of the trees and razor claws that could easily kill with one swipe. The beast was none other than a dragon, with two long rows of sharp teeth like knives and eyes as blue as the sky, Dipper couldn't help but feel awe pull at his being.

Mabel yanked her brother from his stupor, nearly dragging him as she followed their Grunkle behind the nearby trees. They could already smell the fire in the air behind them, heat barely missing their backs as it seared the grass.

The princess nearly smacked her brother at seeing him pull out a quill and his journal, frazzled by their near-death experience, "We are dealing with a dragon and you are here just casually taking notes?!"

Dipper scoffed, "Of course! This is my first encounter with a dragon, it's only natural that I record it."

Mabel took away his book, shaking her head, "See? This is exactly why you need to find yourself a bodyguard! If I wasn't here to save you you'd be toast right now!"

"Okay, so I get y'all are in an argument right now but does anyone know how we should deal with the FREAKING DRAGON?" Wendy cried out, and Soos seemed to miss the seriousness of their predicament, "But dragons are so cool! Didn't Grunkle Stan and Mabel talk about Dipper having a dragon to protect him?"

Mabel shook her head, "We didn't actually mean it though! We didn't think we could actually attract a dragon here!"

Grunkle Stan stiffened, "Well, I might have gotten your gift from a cave."

Dipper gave him an incredulous look and facepalmed, "Seriously? You thought they were just free and up for grabs?"

Grunkle nodded, "Of course, people drop all kinds of important items everywhere without realizing it. That's why they're so easy to trick."

Mabel stayed low as the dragon began thrashing again, "Do something Dipper! Isn't there something in Grandpa's journal that can help?"

Dipper rose from their hiding place, holding the gleaming gold chains and bangles in his hands, making sure to still stay hidden, "No, dragons are rare and not much is known about them. All that I do know is that they have attachments to items they collect, so I guess this one likes gold."

He tries to calm himself and stands a bit straighter, "Maybe if I return it the dragon will stop. It's our best chance at calming it…"

Mabel shook her head, pleading with her eyes, "No Dipper, there must be something else we can do." Dipper glanced over at the discarded chests, maybe if he also offered more gold they could quell the dragon.

He recalled a gift from a neighboring land, a beautiful dress shirt that was a navy blue with ruffles and gorgeous accents of gold-

He could wear that while offering the gold, hopefully the dragon will take it as a sign that he meant no harm as opposed to taking offense. He shared his plan to the group, and Wendy bravely went out to retrieve the chests, the tips of the longest hair singeing as she returned to them.

"Here, quickly! He's in the same spot waiting, but I think he's getting impatient."

Dipper rushed to get on the shirt, ignoring his embarrassment at stripping in front of everyone before gathering all the golden jewelry he owned. He made sure to keep the dragon's treasure separate, cursing softly at how much his hands were shaking.

The group watched Dipper finally move back into the clearing, facing the golden dragon with arms full of the precious metal and a confident stride-

But on the inside, he was desperately praying for this to work.

 ** _Author's Notes:_** ** _I know I can be such a little meanie when it comes to posting but hopefully y'all enjoyed this one too. IDK what direction this will go in so suggestions from the public are more than welcome!_**

 ** _(Also since I am still barely getting used to writing these characters plz let me know what you think about the characterization.)_**

 ** _You know the drill, comments and kudos help get chapters up. (too bad ch 3 is still not done yet LOL)_**


	3. Let's Make A Deal

Chapter Three: Let's Make A Deal

 ** _Notes:_** ** _The corrupted text is part of the plot but isnt meant to be read, so DO NOT TRY TO READ IT. I was using it so the audience depends on Dipper for information. It'll make more sense later._**

Dipper felt his heart hammering in his chest, trying to be as calm as he could when presenting gold to a possibly livid dragon.

This gave him the chance to properly take in the dragon's majestic form, seeing him perched on a tree with his lower-half coiled around the trunk. The scaly-beast only had two front legs, his body tapering off into a long tail that faded to black. His scales were golden, and his claws seemed to stretch on, a deep obsidian that easily dug into the bark with much length to spare. He noted that each claw had only three fingers, most of the ones he had read about had often stated they had four.

The horns matched the color of its claws and didn't coil much, instead slightly curving back and upwards. What really got Dipper's attention was the an unidentifiable bunching around what was the dragon's neck. It didn't gleam like the scales, instead being black as well. The area appeared smooth with occasional wisps of fluff, the tips pointed straight back. If Dipper had to hazard a guess he would say they were feathers but he wasn't completely sure.

Dipper managed to finally lock eyes with the beast, noticing the sky blue irises with a ring of black around them, and fear clutched his heart once again.

He mentally berated himself for being too busy gawking and forgetting the task at hand.

The serpent-like being finally moved, careful to keep its movements slow as it approached the small prince. The beast's eyes seemed to be glowing, but the way it moved implied that it understood the boy had no ill will.

Dipper stayed stiff, feeling faint from being so close to such a dangerous animal with nothing to protect him. He nearly had a heart attack as the dragon finally lunged forward, a guttural noise filling the air as it looked over him. It huffed and barely extended a claw out, using the very end to pluck up only his jewelry, slowly moving back towards the castle to lean against it.

Dipper's arms shook to the point where he was dropping the golden jewelry, he tried to calm down and felt a breath escape him-

The beast mimicked the boy and gently blew hot air at him, making odd noises (possibly laughter from the beast) as Dipper felt the heat wash over him and paint his cheeks red. He nearly lost his shit when he was suddenly thrown up into the air, screaming at the top of his lungs as he began to plunge back to the ground-

Only to be stopped just seconds before contact.

He hadn't hit the ground and the dragon hadn't moved either, but he noticed the dragon's eyes glowing again- much brighter than before.

He was set down gently, freaking out all the while, and he scrambled to his feet and began to run. The beast's mirth quickly turned to displeasure, it seemed to not appreciate the boy's efforts to escape. In an instant Dipper's limbs seized up, but the familiarity of the tightness was akin to a binding spell-

So dragons could use magic as well, huh? Dipper heard a loud battle cry and groaned, it seems Mabel and Wendy decided to play heros and save him. He immediately was overridden with worry as they were pushed back by an invisible force, this dragon was very apt at using magic it seemed. It wasn't until Grunkle Stan somehow managed to get past the barrier and whipped out a scepter that the dragon eased up on the binding.

"Okay dragon, stop this nonsense! You got your stupid bangles back, so scram."

The dragon snarled and the area around his neck puffing up and ruffling (confirming Dipper's theory about feathers) as his eyes flashed a dangerous red. Stan didn't back down, "What? This is not your territory, so go on, leave!"

The beast uncoiled from the tree completely, his lower-half floating behind him as he temporarily abandoned his treasure, leaping to Stan and shaking the ground again as he roared directly at the old man.

"Gross, you definitely need to get some mint for that breath." Stan blanched, beginning to run to Dipper, "You know what kids? We should get out of here, this stupid lizard doesn't want to move."

The golden dragon used his tail to block off Dipper, slamming a claw at Stan, blue fire building up in his mouth-

Grunkle Stan was a fighter though, so he used the scepter to move out of the way, the red ruby on top glowing as he brought up a shield for himself. The dragon continued attacking, its anger escalating as it failed in crushing the old man. Dipper finally reacted, getting up and grabbing the dragon's bracelets during the commotion. He felt his fingers loop through the hole, the bracelets were clearly magical- maybe even the source of the dragon's power. He drew his hidden dagger, finding a blue jewel in the shape of eye glowing and lining it up.

Adrenaline pumped through his as he shouted, "Hey dragon, forgot something?"

Red eyes turned to glare at him, a screech following soon after as the dragon redirected his attention. Dipper quickly raised the small blade, summoning all his strength to be able to strike the jem-

" _ **W̛̥͕͚̙̬̳̎ͤͭ̄̇ͤ̄͞A̢̖̥̭̱̋̈̇ͩ̀͛̚Ȋ̡̳̼͎̻̳̥͉̺͌̄̄͠Ţ̨͎̠̝̠̰͖̲́̔̈́̉̈̎!̮͙͚̼ͬ̅̂͋ ̢̲͖͕̖̮͈͙̩ͥ**_ ", an gravelly yet high pitched voice rang out, desperation and rage dripping out.

Dipper shuddered, feeling fear choke him and paralyze him-

" _ **̵̴̷̫̬̳̘͚̯͑̉**_ " _ **Ļ̘͈̟̉͌ͫ̉͂E̻̺̲͍͌̾́T̟̿ͤͨ͗̔̋̈ͨ͝'̪͙̈́̒̿̉̿S̱ͩͨ̄̕ ̵̪̲̗͉̘̳͔̘̿̒ͮ̂̓M̨̙͎̱̒̓̅͂́̓Ą̡̙͎̟̥̔ͥ̐̍K̵̮͓̤̜̱̖̂ͭE̘̞̥̤͇ͯͯ͌̀͘ ̰̻͚̔̅͋ͤͯͭ̎ͥ͢A͍͔͙̥̘ͩ̂̎͟ ̨͓̉͑ͭ́̽͑̂̇̋͘D̶̥̦͙̼͎͓̦̄́̽̒͗͘Ë̵̖̬͓̲̽A͈̞̲̱̟̮͈ͪ́̊͑̒͆̕L̰̫̭̳̩͉̙ͨ̾̊ͨ̅̃͐̃.̐ͤͨ͘҉̡͍̟̫̰̝̺͖͉**_ "

The brunette's eyes slowly turned to the dragon, he could barely breathe from the stress of it all-

"I̛ͣ̈̌͋ͮͬ҉͎͓͉͘'̶͈̝̺͙̲̗̟̭̘̇̓̃l̞̮͔̙̩͓ͯ͛̌̐ͤ͠͞l̂̽̓̊͡͠ͅ ̵̨̲̫̳̮̽̈͆̀̉ͨͤ͒͠l̲͓̲͍̞͓̰̽ͨ̏̉̾͑̎̀̚͝ě̘̘̯̭͓̦̝́͝t̛̼͖̘̥͌̀̋ͤ̌̃͋̑̍̀ ̴̩̝̣̹̹̬̬̠ͫ̃ͭ͑̃ͭ͠ͅy͔͖̲͇̪͈̤̙͛ͫͫo̿͂ͯ͐ͥ͊̄̄҉̘̯̣͕͝ǘ̶͖͍ͨ̃ͦ͆͋ ̙̖͖̹̪̥̩̈́̏̄̄͘͞͝a̡͈͕̼͂̋̄ͦ̂͢n̻̟̮̾̊ͨ̓ͣ͜͜ͅd̷̘̳̠̗̭̫̈́̍ͦ̓ͤͭ͛ͭͅ ͛̿͘҉̵̻̤ͅy̬͔͉͇̼̆ͫ͘o̻̫͚̯̎ͯ͜u͇̼ͣ͂̄͑r͉ͫ̈́ͭͩͪ̄͡ ̜͙̣̲̠̍̏̈́̍̈́̃̚͟͢f͈̦̗͔̲̹̤̍̂̽̽̽̆̓͂̕͝r̅ͫͨ͗̊̒̓ͣ͏̖̤̤͎̩̀i̡̫̲͉̜͍̹̙̠̓͂͘ę̶̝̣͎͇̦̼͛̈́ͧ͘n̸̢̮̜ͨ͑͒͘d̏ͣ̏͏͇̫͍͚̣͈̘̯s̒͂̒̽҉̛̗̙̜ ̿̓̎ͯ͏̶͔̝̬̟̝̖̝̭͠ģ̴̟͚̙ͤ̍́͝ͅo̵̜̱̩̣͙̱̍̽ͩ̎͝,̘͓̙̞̑͋̽̎̌̈́ ̗̟̲̩ͤͮͨ͊iͤ̎̓̚͢͏̠̖̘̦f͔̣̼͙͇̓͑̍͌̇͊̓͢͞ ̞͓̤̬̙͙̮͖̆̉ͯ͆͒ͮ̾̚ȳ̫̗̝ͫ͗̋ͧ̒͜o̜͍̅ͧ̀͘u̙̤̻̥̝͆̓̏ͮͧ͊͝ ̴̶̙͚̤̋͌ͫͦ̾́̓̚ḡ̖̲͛͊̄i̟̹̻̤̯̻͍̣̔̀̒ͦv͖̞̜͕̤͕͆ͣ́͘ͅẽ̈́ͭͪ̍̒͒̿͏͖̙͈̮̳̘̬̗͚ ̢̠̠̘̃̇ͧ̋̉̉̈́͞m̡̮̗̼̫̗͈̼̀ͦ͜e̱̬̪̰̠̜̎͐̎ͪ̇̂͂ͨ͘ ̞̥͚͎̜̜̀ͨ͋̊̃̅ͯ̔̀̚͘͞t̨̹̻̘̞̲̟͊ͣ̾̌̑͟h̍ͥ̄́҉̷̨͍̝̥̟̝̱̼é͔̰͉̝̟̣̜̾ͦͯ̑̑͆ͭ ̘̭͍̳ͮ͛ḇ̥͉͈̠̣̗̖̔ͭ̿̄̕̕͝ͅř̷̞̼̗̱͆̂̋a̢̳̥̲̘ͩ͐ͦć̷̫̠̬̻̘͔͚̝̆̉̐͑̄͞͞ę̌͘҉̳̣l͓̮̟̮͇̩̗̐̈̆͐̄̂e̷̹̩̙̩̹̫̫ͤ̒ͮ̋͑̈̐̓t̸̠̭̖̻̍͌̎̑̋ͯ͂s̢̓ͣ̎̐̀͛ͨ̚͏̤̥͖̥͝ͅ ͖̭͕͍̠̀ͩ̑̅͌͛ͣͬa̺͍̦͇͆̂ͭͧn̐̈́̽̂ͪ͛͢͏҉̳͈̫͎̻̤̦̩ͅd̴͔̭̮̘̭̼̊͑̕ ̨͔͎̝̖̀̎̆t̵̝͇ͬ̐̓ͩ̚͡h̆͋͊͛̅̓̊͏̧̬̹̺̫̘͍̣̖́e̶̢̻͚̤̺͐ͨ͂̊̔͘ ̛̤̥͈̮͖̝̣͙̭ͨ̾͊ͫ͋c̡̦̭̱̲̹̯̱͇̑͊ͦͥ͊a̸͓̱̭̭̱͙ͣ̍̚s̴̮͔̮͐ͩ̒̔̇̾̿ͩͮ̀t̶̨͚͉̝̓͐̈l̨͎̠͓̰̰̙͔̟ͮͣ͆̓́́e̝̰̦̙̫̻̦̋̅͜.̙̙̖̱̘͉͕ͩͤ̇͆ ̧̪̠̟͙̐ͧ͘͘"

Dipper shook his head furiously, his hand with the dagger shaking as he scowled, "You are in no position to ask for the castle and your bracelet."

The dragon bared his teeth, growling again before speaking again-

"Y̶̴̞͌͆̈́͆͐ͅỏ̧̢̩̲̮̟̘̭ͤͣ͊ù̢͔̟ͤ͢ ̺̗͍͕͒ͪ͛̂̂̔̀h̭͔̹̪̳̥̮̰͓̓͊a̙̦͙̘̙̗͇̓͂͠v̶͈ͣͩͭͯͤͯ͝ͅe̶͈̦̗̦̪̹͖̞͑͑̎ͮ̎̽͛̀ ̨̜́̏̌̓͗͠͞n̘͕͔͊̎͒̔o̩̝̻ͦ̔͂ͫͨ̂ ̻̬̼̲͉̜̮̅í̷̳͙̳̖̣̣̬͋̒̊͠ͅd̸͎̣̼ͨ͡ḛ̵̸ͪ́ͤ́ͅa̷̪̟̤ͯͣ̐ͥ̎̋͊̂̈́͘͠ͅ ̡̠̞͈̹̘̣̳̆͐ͨ̕w̷̷͔͎̗̦̤̖̮͊̇́ͣ̉̀̚h̷̻̺̮̣̺̻̩̉ͦ̈̏̑ͅâ̵͖͇̞͖̟̣̹̖̟̅̆͑̈͊͜͠t̶͔̗͈͖͖̲̠ͦ̄̑ͣ͞ ̼̰̦̜̝̯̿͊͂ͫ̓͢Í̖͙̭̝̖͉̓̂ͭ̽̆̔̉ͬ͝ͅ ̴̥͚̦͐̃̽̽ͬą̖͍̮̻̠̥̮̘̤ͧ͐̐ͦͫ̊ͨm̷̩̰͔͍̰̬͉̻ͪͦͣ͒͞ ̳̹͎͎̤͕̻̈́͗͟ͅc̲͚̉ͯ̚͞à̛̳͔̆ͮ̾ͥ̂̈́p̣̟ͦͮ͜a̯̯̲̰̱̻̖̪͔ͧ̑̑̌́͊̚͜b̥͓͕̠̫̫̔ͩ̑̋ͩl̵̡̺͎̊̋ͪͤ̅́͐̚ȩ̡͇̦̫͕̤̄̊̀̏ ̠̼͚͉̳̼̦̮̎̿͞͠ṍ͓͎͖̳̼̟͉́̃̈̆̃̆͊f̡̡̘̙̪͈̖͙̀͊ͤ͌ͦͤ̐.͕͚͕̣̺͈͓͕͗̓̑ͫ͐͑̊͋̚͢ ̭̝̤̖̓ͥ̑ͨ͋̿͢͟B̶ͭ̽͑͏̳͙̝̯̲ẻ̙̦͖̑̉̀̕ ̧̦̹̰̜̙ͭ̑ͣ̋̿͒ͬ͊͠gͩ̏ͦ͛͏̩͉͖͉̙̯̙̮̀lͩ̓̔͒ͧ҉͍̹̹̜̦̮͟a̧̪̥̞͊͛̀ͯ̒̓d̶̼̤̪̙̪ͤͧ͑̊̊ ͖̲̘̠̮ͬͤͣͬͯÎ̹̳̯̬̦̰͍̋̀̅̿͋ ̷̧͔͉̤̼̳͚͉ͥ͊̍̑̀a̓ͯ͏̸͈̣̙̠m̝̹̹͓̜̱̝͊̓̀͢͢ͅ ̮̻̾̂̑̍̋͟͡s̘̥̿̄p͛̓̀ͧͥ҉̵̶̺̜͎̲̪̗ͅa̯̘̠̹͍͔̜͛ͤ̽͗͋̓̐̅͘r̢̛͉̺͈ͤͫ̒̈́ͩͅị̛̙̔ͭ̀̓͊ͨ͋n̸̶͎̺̦̦͔̳̻͈̈ͩ̓̈́g̷̪͍͈̦͐̔̾̉ͦ̽̂̚͝ ̲̝͉̮̾̾̇͐͒̀y̞̭͙͓̫̰͐͂ͪ͢͞͝o̗̟ͪ̎ͪ͘ư̳̯͇̭̝̰̦̔̈́͒ͫ͐͑̈ͤ͝r̺̦͍͕̩̺̜̹̗̈ͧͪ̑̕ ̡͖̣͚͇̗͕̬̪̈́̍͛̌̄̂ͭ͡l̡̪̂̔͝ͅĭ̡̯̻̭̭̣̟̝̱̀v̖͚̺̻̖͉̘̅e̼͈̱̜̪̦̱̠̗ͯͧͫ̔̋ͩͩ̑͟s̗͍̣̚.͈͉̹̒ͬ""

Dipper refused once more, lowering the knife and grabbing the bracelet tightly, staring into it's gem and finding himself captivated with it once more. There was something about this jewelry that was not just magical. It was... _familiar._

" **G̷̵̡̘͔̩͓̱͍̫̝ͧ̔̅́̌̆͛̅̄́̂̉̈́̅̍͌̍͋͘͟i̸̶̟͍̜̹͉͎̬̤͈̪̦̗̺̜͎̠̤̱͉̊̾̇̔́͒̏̌̽͌ͮͦ̈͂͊̚͢v͂ͥ͆͐͏̷͓͙̮̟̗̣̜̰̗͈̭͔͉̺͞e̸̺̞̣̹̥͚̙̹͎̖͉̺͙͚͒̔̆̊͆̎̿̿͆͐ͦ́̚̕ ̡͉͔͈̯̭̹̲̟ͣ̿͆̌ͫͮ̉̓̑̓̑ͨ͛ͪ̉̽̐́͘͘͡m̸̘̯̘̜̺̫͔̙͉ͧ͒̇͗̈́̾̊̓̾̽̋̕͟͠e̛͍̜̠̬̫̬̣̼̰̠̥̬̗͇ͮ̑̋̂̽̀͐ͫͫͪ̎̈̐̏̉̄̀͢͞͡ͅ ̢̦͇͓͍͇̯̪͇̪̝̃ͭ͐̋ͣ̊ͣͪ͗̚͡͠t̨̔̏́ͪ͋̍̂͌ͮ҉̳̲̭̼͙̫͚̞h̍ͥ̈́̉͏̠̘̞͖̻̯̹͖͇͙̠̘̩̰̮̩͍̕͢͠e̵̡͔̹̱̝̙͇̝̫͕̭̰̱̟͊̍̓͐̄͌͌ ̷̡͔͚̥͍̙͉͚̳̼̒̈͌̾͊̈́ͤ̌ͦ͊̎͘b͂͒̑̇̿̓̆̌̈̅ͩ͠҉̼͓̥͈̬̤͔͞ͅr̈́ͭ̏ͫ̃͒̌̾̉̍͌ͥ̎͐͋͊҉͠͏̟̳͈̫̝̜͓͖̮̰ͅa̧͚̦̻̭̲̳͎̱̟̞͓ͣ̍̌ͣͬ͊͛̏̇̀͞c̴̤͕̦͉͓̦̫̯͈̟̼͉̲̥͆̿̽ͫ̂̍̆̾̋̉̽̿̚͟eͥ͛͊ͭ̔͂ͥ́͊͛͡҉͎̗̤͈̜͚̯̺͇̱͎͇l̴̢̬̖̝̜͚̗̮͍͔͚̯̮̞̱̲̺̪̣ͣ̔̾̀̏͌ͦ̐͆ͧ̔ͬ̍ͨ̾̚͟͠͡e̡̹̲̼̯̳̥̹̜̩̍͋̅̄̐͊̐ͩ̄̓͌̅͊ͧͩ̀͘͟͢t̶̛͚̪̱̹̻͚̗̞͔͓̹̫̠̫͇̾ͣ̓͐͑̃́̇͋̈ͪͬ̂́̋̋ͅ,̶̛̱͍̞̪̜̫̲̟͓͖̜̗̻̟͓͖̝͈̟ͮ͂̎ͧ̇̌̿ͨ͗ͯ̏̽ͣͣ͌̚̚ ̷̋̾̊͋̆͑ͧ́ͪ͑ͯ͌̊̊̄͟͞͏̰̮͓͙̳͎̟̜̮͍̰̝̬̰̤͔̱̬̰͠c̵̪̖̥̪̮̜̝͓̤̲̬͈̳̗ͦ̇͆̉̓̇ͥh̓͒̿̏͒́̒ͭ̆̈̀̏̎̅͊͑̊͌҉̵̞̬̪̦͇̤̻̪͝í̴̘͚̱̩̭̤͙̳̟̪̻̞̳̬̬̤̱̒͆ͫ̃ͩ͂̍͐̐̽͟͠l̑ͦ̇ͭ̐͏͏̷̫̱͈͍̘̙͡ḑ̼̣̟̻̮͕͓̞̮͉͎̠̻̻̠͚ͩ̔͑͞ͅ.̷͖͔̺̰̗̰̤̹͉͈̖̭̥ͦͮͪͮ̇͑ͮ̐̓ͪ̓ͥ́̀̚͟ͅͅ"**

ͭ̑̊̑̀͆̅̀͟͡҉̟̩̲͈̰͚̯͚̣̗̪̩̖̝̦̀

Dipper didn't even respond, too busy staring at the gold in his hands with a strange expression across his face. He wasn't acting right, and before he knew it the dragon yanked the jewelry from him, a pang of pain slicing through his heart-

"Consider this a favor then."

Dipper blinked and the pain immediately went away, surprised at the smooth voice that graced his ears. He barely turns fast enough to see the dragon fly off, his chesnut waves whipping from the strong gust of air. He wanted to call out to the golden beast, but had no idea what to say, watching the beast until he couldn't make out the glimmer of gold behind the greens of the pine trees.

The boy was brought into a silent stupor, his mind still lagging behind as he continued to process what had just occurred moments ago.

"So, do you think it's safe to say he's not coming back?" Soos meekly piped up, still shaken from the encounter.

Grunkle Stan brushed himself off and returned the scepter from beneath his cap with a grumble, "I hope so. Good riddance I say."

The group calmed down and Mabel quickly ran over to hug Dipper tightly before slapping him _hard_ , "Please don't scare me like that ever again."

Dipper still struggled to form words, nodding instead and still gazing off in the direction where the dragon had left. Wendy and Soos began taking his chests up into the castle, Drunkle Stan coming in to inspect the place, their voices barely reaching Dipper's ears. Mabel sensed her brother's confusion and finally tugged at his arm-

"We should go inside. You need to get settled in before we leave." She stared at him with a concerned gaze, waiting for him to reply. Dipper sighed, running a hand through his tousled hair before languidly departing from his spot.

"Yeah, I'm just...really tired from all that has happened today." He tried to smile but Mabel could tell it was forced, grabbing his hand and squeezing reassuringly.

Dipper squeezed back and started to unpack, questions buzzing around in his skull and making it hard to focus. He quietly agreed that he would seek the dragon. Even if the golden beast did not come back here he would find time to go out on his own quest.

He wanted answers, and he was sure as hell going to get them.

 ** _Author's Notes: Bill Cipher is based off the Colchian Dragon, but the Aztec in me demands I add Quetzalcoatl-feathers to him LOL. Also don't worry, Bill will come back. This chapter is just setting some stuff up for the plot. (He will always come back for his Dipdop) Comments really motivate me, so I hope to hear more from y'all!_**


	4. Holding Out For A Hero

Chapter Four: Holding Out For A Hero

Dipper Pines knew this whole tournament-scouting-crap was a horrible idea.

It was probably the worst idea his parents ever managed to convince him to do. Mabel had helped him settle in after the encounter with the dragon, growing misty eyed as she said her final goodbyes and set off to the Northwest Kingdom. (Dipper knew better than to deny that he cried as well, since more tears sprang when she 'lightly' hit him in the shoulder at the attempt.) Wendy and Soos promised to visit him with provisions and books once every month.

Now all he could do was wait, as knights across the land set off on the perilous and daunting journey all he could do was sit around until one of them found him. (The resemblance of this to those cliche fairytales Mabel always teased him about made it all the worse.) Then, one random day while lazing about the castle the great idea dawned on him-

 _No one was supervising him._

Joy filled the boy's heart as he began to gather a satchel of small weapons and provisions, and his grandfather's journal and a blank one for his own notes. He had so much _freedom_ now. He could go explore the forests and possibly learn more about the magical creatures that lived in Gravity Falls. As long as he was smart and used his sense to lead him, he would be fine. It was everything he wanted and more.

Dipper now began to make multiple voyages, going into the woods and returning well before nightfall, becoming well versed in the area surrounding his castle. He managed to take extensive notes on fairies and nymphs that neighbored his home, and he had been researching what could possibly be the creature known as the "Hide-Behind", almost certain that he had seen a figure just out of his view in certain parts of the forest.

All was great for the young prince-turned adventurer, yet as the saying goes- all good things must come to an end.

Except today was different.

He had been hot on a harpy's trail, quietly following her to the edge of a cliff where her nest teetered on the, watching as she fed her young. He wrote down furiously, trying not to miss a precious moment of observation on simply recording his findings. Dipper knew he'd have to review these notes anyways and organize them before putting them into Journal Three. Yet that all came to a halt once he felt a tree branch snap under his foot.

Dipper couldn't stop the way his torso seemed to shake, vibrating with a nervous laugh that never escaped his throat and banging around within his chest cavity. His hand grew slack, dropping the quill he had been using and clutching the journal close to him.

He knew it was already too late, there was no way he could have stopped the harpy from grabbing him by the shoulders, flipping a few times before flinging him off the cliff, shrieking all the while.

His mind raced with so many thoughts, overwhelmed by the sensations of not only his feelings but of falling through the air as well. The wind whistled past his ears, hair whipping about wildly as he only descended faster and faster. The harpy must have used momentum of the flips to get him high into the air, as he had a gorgeous view above the pines, his heart settling for just a moment at the scene.

It kickstarted once he felt his right arm collide with a branch, a sickening crack resounding in the air as he continued to bang against the various branches. Pain bloomed all over his body, especially his face as he broke his nose against the bark. Scratches littered his limbs as he slid off each branch, only to be met with another one that preferred to bruise his torso instead.

He saw stars as he knocked his face against a sneaky branch, blood oozing like a waterfall onto his neck and collarbone. It hurt to even breathe, yet Dipper clung to the journal with his able arm, he wouldn't dare lose it even in death. He whined as he finally met the ground, small jagged rocks digging into his back painfully as he laid on the ground, pine needles following after to grace him with their scent. Dipper simply lied there, trying to regain his senses and overcome the immobility that came with such pain and panic.

The pine needles seemed to not only be on top of him but snuck their way into any place they could find- whether it be his clothes or hair. They teasingly scratched against his skin, their bristles uncomfortably rubbing and breaking against him as he attempted to sit up. The pain was still very much present, but seemed to dull slightly the more time passed.

The prince didn't dare move his right arm, already knowing it was broken based on the crack from earlier. He groaned, surprised that he hadn't screamed at all during the ordeal. (He supposed he was scared to complete silence. His chest had been unbearably tight the whole time.) He felt some of his wounds bleed out a bit more, and his clothes ripped in various places. His entire body begged for him to lay down once more but Dipper knew staying out any longer would definitely leave him stranded.

Dipper watched as the sun painted the sky orange, glancing over at the book in his left hand, the emblem glowing with the light. He had been careless- he had put down his bag with his provisions so that he could crouch and write without being weighted down-

He mentally scolded himself for being so stupid, he knew he should have never taken off the satchel! He was just so tired of carrying it around all day, and he really wanted to write as much as possible without any distractions. Now he was in an unknown part of the forest, without food and supplies- only a book and his mind to help him now.

Tears sprung to his eyes, he was _scared_.

No amount of wit or brilliance could save him now, he would need strength to survive- but he knew he was doomed.

Dipper tried and tried to swallow his tears, not wanting to attract any more attention that could possibly end up in his death. Oh, who was he kidding. It was already lucky that he had survived the fall, but he had no way of surviving out here in the forest. He lacked the strength to even fight off a boar; much less a magical creature. He was completely defenseless, just like a damsel in distress.

 _Ha, I guess Mabel was right. I am just like those fairytale princesses, weak and helpless, needing to be saved._

He felt his tears spill over at the thought of his sister, no one would know he was dead until Soos and Wendy would discover his body missing. He wondered if they would ever find his body, they probably wouldn't even know it was him-all they would see is some bones under some pine tree, hopefully with the journal if nature didn't destroy it or move it away. Dipper now understood why they had been so adamant about him learning to fend for himself, so that if this situation ever arose that he would be ready.

A sob finally broke the silence, his throat growing heavy with regret.

He regretted not spending more time with his parents.

He regretted that he would never get to see his sister again.

He regretted being a little brat and avoiding the fighting lessons, even going as far as to say he didn't need them.

Soon he could hear Mabel's voice in his head, knowing she wouldn't want him to give up so easily. She would want him to fight, to know he tried his hardest to get back home.

" _There are things you can do Dipdop, that I would never even think of doing! But you need to use your strengths to help cover your weaknesses! You're the one who always told me to use everything I could in order to tip the scales to my advantage!" she yelled, shaking a younger Dipper as he wiped his tears, hiding the scrapes he had gotten from some of the knights-in-training._

Dipper felt his breath come back to him, even as his legs protested he struggled to his feet-

"Yeah...I've got my wit and my knowledge to help me leverage my physical weakness. I can think of a way out of here- I just have to push myself a bit more that usual. I don't need a stupid knight to protect me."

He hissed as pain bloomed in his ribcage, tucking his book under his good arm in order to reach over and cradle the damaged side. He looked around, the dense trees made it difficult to see much, and behind him was the cliff he was thrown off of. The prince made his way back to the cliff, leaning against it as he looked down the side, seeing the rock stretch on and on. Dipper slowly looked at the map in the journal, although it was outdated it could at least act as a guide. He saw that the cliff eventually became a hill, converging with the ground below about 40 miles.

He sighed, closing the book and deciding to walk along the cliff, wanting to at least head onto higher ground and (hopefully) in the direction of his tower. He winced and cringed, the aches and burns from his injuries slowed him down considerably, and he glanced back at the sky to see how much daylight he had left.

He judged that he probably had maybe three hours at most, so he would continue till then. Dipper found it difficult to move forward both physically and mentally, even with his load he never went too far from his home.

He grimaced as he felt the pine needles irritate his skin, he was unable to take them out with his only good hand full; thankfully they would sometimes fall out as he walked. But it was still not enough, as he resisted the urge to scratch everywhere.

He guessed he really wasn't an adventurer like his grandfather, only having big dreams and fantasies about all the knowledge in the journal.

Dipper slowed to a complete stop, adjusting the journal so he could hold it in his left hand; staring at it with a sigh. He pushed away the self-loathing thoughts and focused on keeping in motion, he needed to cover as much ground as possible.

The boy finally reached a cave within the cliff, right as the sun began to slip halfway under the horizon-

Mentally he was relieved, he could try to stay in the cave for shelter, and hide in the darkness from any predators. His grandfather had written many times that caves were mostly uninhabited if Gravity Falls (strangely enough); he had even claimed to use them during his own journeys.

Peering into the cave nearly blinded him, gold shining brightly from all corners and crevices, jewels and diamonds glittering in random clumps as well. His body tensed up and his heart seized up in fear-

 _This was the dragon's lair._

His body was wracked with tremors as he saw no beast inside the cave, meaning that the beast was out and about and could return at any given moment. He rushed to leave the area, heart pumping hard as his limbs screamed at him for abusing them so much. The boy was

Dipper nearly fell over at hearing something approaching, the trees bending in the wind and the flapping of wings echoing across the land. The ground vibrated as the beast landed behind him, huffing out hot air from behind-

"Well, well, what do we have here?" a light voice began, somewhat high-pitched but still very smooth. Dipper frowned, turning and seeing the dragon behind him-

"You remember me, don't ya? I see you missed me enough to offer yourself to me." The dragon cackled after the joke, laying its tail down in a curl and keeping it's torso upright. Its feathers fluffed a bit and its eyes glowed that eerie blue-

"So, Pine Tree, what brings you to my home. You better not be back for that bracelet."

Dipper gave him a confused look at the statement, still feeling extremely compromised in his state. He had hoped the dragon held no grudges over that day, "I-I'm not Pine Tree," he grimaced at the stutter that came out and forced out, "And I'm not here for that."

The dragon seemed to smile, its eyes crinkling in delight, "So you _really are_ offering yourself to me, how sweet!" Dipper's face must have been hilarious, as the dragon fell into another fit of laughter, lowering itself to put its hands on the ground.

"I'm just playing Pine Tree, I can see that you're pretty hurt. I already gave you one favor, and I am not giving you another."

Dipper was surprised at the dragon's conclusion, "Why would I come to you for help?"

The dragon's eyes flashed a dangerous red, "Why? I'm a being of pure energy with no weaknesses, that's why!"

Dipper blanched at the sudden display of fury, trembling as he clamped his mouth shut. He mentally noted to be more cautious of what he said to the golden beast, whose temperament seemed to be fickle-

With another huff of air the dragon calmed himself (somewhat), his feathers still ruffling as he invaded Dipper's personal space, inspecting him, "You better not doubt my powers if you value your life. It would be so easy to-"

Dipper seemed to forget his manners, interrupting the dragon, "Hey, you sound different from last time. I couldn't even understand you half the time."

The dragon stared at him, and stared and stared and stared-

"You're serious. You seriously interrupted me to ask a question." The dragon seemed to be dumbfounded by this fact, and Dipper mentally facepalmed himself for being so stupid around this dragon-

He gave a nervous laugh, "S-S-Sorry! I was just w-wondering, it was b-bothering me!"

The dragon narrowed its eyes, giving him an icy glare, "The bracelet was tempting you. It's cursed and blah blah blah- so it is of no relevance to you."

It seemed Dipper wasn't learning anything during this time, unable to keep his mouth shut, "What does the curse do? And why do you have a cursed item?"

The dragon growled out in response, "Why do you need to know? You really don't need to know, Pine Tree."

The boy frowned, "It felt familiar. Like, I needed to wear it."

The dragon rolled its eyes, "Yeah, and I did you a favor by not letting you. Only a chosen one can wear that item. Those that are unworthy die immediately and let me tell you, it's not a pretty death."

Dipper averted his eyes, "But I felt stronger with it. It was so fascinating-"

The dragon slithered behind him, blocking him from leaving, "Everyone thinks it fascinating. You're not special, kid- Everyone thinks they're the chosen one and then die trying."

Dipper fell silent, unable to rebut the dragon's point. He felt a rough push from behind, dropping the journal and landing on his bad arm with a scream, the dragon's eyes slitted at the sound-

"You seem to be too comfortable around me, Pine Tree. Just cause I spared you once doesn't mean that I'll be so kind again."

A sharp smile followed the comment and Dipper rolled onto his back, tears streaming freely from the burst of pain.

"Kid, your eyes look gorgeous when they're full of tears! I wonder if your blood is as sweet as you smell~"

Dipper panicked, breathing hard despite the stabbing in his side, more tears spilling over as he felt the fear return to choke him-

The dragon looked into the cave for a moment, a faint blue light glowing from within. The beast immediately went inside to investigate, his tail undulating as he sped right past the boy beneath him. Dipper strained to see where the dragon had gone, cranking his neck uncomfortably since he was still too weak to rise.

The dragon stared curiously at the glowing object, and through the illumination Dipper could tell it was the cursed bracelet from before. It was beautiful, pulsing fast in what seemed to be a quick rhythm. The beast carefully took the bracelets and bangles that connected with the gem, bringing it over to the boy before plunging a claw into Dipper's bad shoulder.

He screamed, feeling the joint pop out of the socket and the beast twisted his sharp black claw into it, the glowing pulsated even faster and the claw was then removed-

"Put this on now, child." the best sternly said, trying to force it onto his bad hand.

Dipper felt that call again, unable to resist as the bracelets finally slipped on, the bands clamping down on his wrist. He felt electricity run through his being, the force so strong he felt as though each fiber of his being was being slowly split apart-

Then silence overcame him. His vision was blurry with tears but he felt better, definitely better than before-

Actually, he felt _better than ever_.

He glanced at his now fixed arm, adorned with the gorgeous golden bracelets and bangles, the gem proudly glowing and in time with his heartbeat. He sat up, all his injuries were gone and all that was left were the annoying pine needles in his clothes and hair. He worked on taking them all out, relieved at finally being freed from the torment of his mistake(s).

Dipper turned to the dragon and felt a snarky comment rise to the tip of his tongue-

But he stopped once he saw the expression the dragon was making. He seemed to be in awe, utter disbelief at what had just occurred.

"You...I never thought this day would come." the dragon airily stated.

Dipper seemed to realize the implication of the statement, apparently the curse was not relevant to him, _it was the dragon who was cursed_.

The dragon scoffed, "Well, I guess it really is relevant to you then. I got cursed by some stupid witch and she turned me into a dragon and said that that cursed bracelet could only be worn by the hero who could save you. She mentioned something about the hero being able to change me back and blah blah blah."

Dipper nodded, hanging on his every word, "Okay, so what exactly am I supposed to do to free you?"

The dragon sighed, "You have to do you seriously not know how this works? We're going on a quest, Pine Tree. You must collect some stones for me to be free of the curse."

"And if I can't help you?"

The dragon shrugged, "I'll just kill you then."

 ** _Author's Notes: I've been trying really hard on characterization, so I'm hoping to hear from y'all- So what do you think? Am I missing important aspects of these characters or am I at least going in the right direction? ;o;_**


	5. We Can Help Each Other

Chapter Five: We Can Help Each Other

 _ ***throws confetti* LOL Birthdays are fun, and cake is awesome. (So to honor my birthday let's have virtual cake together)**_

 _ **Sorry about the late upload, I was having trouble with the direction of this fic. And writer's block. And school. I actually have a final on Friday, so hopefully I don't die.**_

 _ **This chapter is dialogue heavy so be warned. That stylish text is back so don't focus so much on reading it if you cant. (If it's really killing you then I will be happy to tell you what it says).**_

"So I don't get a choice." Dipper deadpanned, finally rising to his feet and brushing himself off.

"You do get a choice, kid! It's just an easy one, help me change back and I'll help you learn to control the bracelet!"

The dragon snickered, using his tail to lightly bump Dipper closer to him. He scooted away a bit, managing to find his journal on the floor and he picked it up brushing off any dirt from the cover and inspecting it for any damages.

Dipper moved his attention to the gaudy jewelry that was now bound to his wrist, it was weightless despite it's appearance, and it made him feel _strong._

He balled his right hand into a fist, "I don't know about all this. Your kind are dangerous, so it's probably best that you are cursed. And you could be evil for all I know- I don't even know your name."

The golden beast's feathers ruffled impatiently, but his expression slipped to pride, "I am William Cipher, of the Cipher Royal Guard."

Dipper gave him a funny look, "But you're a dragon! Unless-"

"Bingo! Ha ha, you seriously need to read up more on curses kiddo, or else you might mistake a man for a beast!" the 'man' chided, a smirk making his pointy teeth peek out somewhat menacingly.

The boy stared up at the dragon, so this guy wasn't actually a dragon but a cursed man? And what was all about this Royal Guard stuff-

"I've never heard of the Cipher Royal Guard. I'm Dipper Pines by the way, Prince of Gravity Falls."

He began to step outside of the cave, into the darkness of the forest without any plan again. He glanced around, unable to see much due to the nightfall, jumping when wisps of blue fire suddenly lit.

"Never heard of the Cipher Royal Guard?! You've got to be joshing me!"

Dipper felt the scales before he could see them, being coiled within the tail once again, "The Kingdom of Gravity Falls...hmmm."

The dragon slowly moved into the air, pacing around casually before his head lifted, stopping to face the prince-

"So you're the son of Filbrick, huh? You must take a lot from Ma Pines, since you're practically a princess!"

Dipper felt his blood boil at being called a princess, scowling, " Actually, Filbrick Pines is my great-grandfather. My father is-"

The dragon landed, his eyes glowing blue, "Wait-so Filbrick is dead?"

Dipper nodded and he covered his ears at the sudden shrill noise that came from the dragon, plopping himself onto the ground and writhing around wildly- Dipper nearly got crushed under the erratic flails-

"Filbrick is dead! Dead! Dead! Dead! Dead!"

Dipper managed to put some distance between them, concern flashing across his features-

"Uhm, Are you okay?"

The dragon shot up again, floating in front of the boy while baring his teeth, but his eyes gleamed happily, "Okay? OKAY?! I am WAY better than OKAY! He's been a thorn in my side since the damned treaty!"

Dipper knew he probably wasn't going to get any answers from the dragon due to the maniacal laughing fit he fell into. Even if the dragon was composed he doubted he'd be able to keep up with what the beast was saying, so he decided to change the topic, "So, William-"

"Call me Bill. It's easier."

"Bill, then. It's late and I need to get back to my tower."

"Fine, but I will go visit you and pester you, so dont think you can run away from me. I'll be watching you, little Pine Tree."

The boy rolled his eyes, seeing the dragon lay part of his body down, his head tilted towards the sky. The boy slowly approached him, even though this guy wasn't a dragon he was pretty cool. Dipper bit his lip, how did one even mount a dragon? Wyverns were easy since you could tuck your legs behind their forelegs but this dragon only had two, and he doubted that he'd be able to sit that high on him. Maybe if he just held on really tight-

As soon as he touched him Bill shoved him with his tail, causing the prince to stumble and flail to regain his balance. The dragon laughed, becoming aware of what Dipper was thinking-

"Did I ever tell you I was going to take you home? Because I am fairly certain I didn't agree to such a thing."

Dipper felt his face grow hot at misreading the situation, crossing his arms and trying to swallow his embarrassment. Bill was the most un-cool dragon ever-

"Yeah, well... I am lost- I was hoping you'd be nice enough to help me find the way back."

Bill gave him an unamused look, snorting, "Kid, I am not going to fly around aimlessly in the dark to find some god damned tower. And I am definitely not going to carry you there, princess."

The dragon gestured with his hand, and Dipper felt the binding magic again-

"I guess you're staying in my cave for tonight, so deal with it."

Dipper opened his mouth to protest before feeling his voice leave, tears coming to his eyes as Bill magically sewed his mouth shut. Dipper had only heard of the thread spell once in his life, and he had dismissed it as a myth. He stared at the dragon in awe, _he definitely needed more information on the Cipher Royal Guard._

The gems proved to be light sources in the night, seemingly glowing from within and dimming as the progressed further into the cave. Bill dragged him along, his palms on the floor as he finally reached the end of the cave, a giant piles of cloth spanning along the wall and making an huge area to lounge.

The dragon left him standing, still bound and silenced as he laid down, a hot gust of air blowing past as the dragon got comfortable. Dipper wanted desperately for the beast to release him, despite being a man Bill really had no manners. It was no wonder that he got cursed-

Dipper began to focus on using a simple charm spell, which would require little magic and would conjure and toss an arrow if he concentrated on the object and trajectory. The charm usually took him three minutes to do-

So when multiple arrows suddenly appeared and launched at the dragon Dipper felt his heart sink.

The beast had only needed a couple to be alerted of his unwanted guest, and blue fire filled the cave as he destroyed the rest, his eyes a bright red-

"I let you into my home and you decide to stab me with a flurry of arrows?! For a prince you are awful company."

Dipper felt himself tremble, the invisible string being cut from his lips and finally allowing him to talk, "I-I-I'm sorry! I just needed to get your attention! I didn't mean to hurt you- I don't know how that happened-"

The dragon seemed to simmer down, still angry but at least having enough sense to contain himself. He released the binding as well, huffing and grabbing a gem from the wall, crushing it into a fine powder before blowing it into the air.

"The bracelet amplifies your powers, so be aware of that the next time you use magic. We'll need you to practice before we set off for the quest. I'll teach you some easy spells and healing so you won't be so defenseless."

Dipper pouted, about to reply only to be cut off, "If it wasn't for that old man I would have been able to kill you and your friends without a hitch."

The boy sighed, seeing Bill's point. He watched as the blue powder floated in the air, sticking to Bill's wounds and crusting over them. Once he was fully covered he shook his entire body, getting the coating off and revealing his golden scales once more, shining and completely healed.

"What was that gem you used?"

"It's actually a solidified potion. I added some hematite to make it a bit more glittery and the magic that solidifies it makes it shine like a gem."

Dipper ached to write that down into his journal, opening his book and turning to a blank page, but lightly smacking himself in the head, he had no way to write it down-

His heart leaped into his throat when the book erupted into blue flames, fear shaking him to the core as he dropped it, imploring the dragon with his eyes-

"Don't worry kid, I'm just giving you some stuff to study. I'm not damaging your precious little journal."

The dragon scoffed, "A lot of this is wrong though, you don't mind if I make corrections, right?"

Dipper's uncertain face seemed to be all he needed to understand, growling, "Geez, don't get all sensitive. Just trying to help you out. I'll leave my notes on the side so you can see that I'm right."

The book floated to Dipper once the flames subsided, feeling even heavier than he remembered, "Why are you doing this?"

"I thought you might like being stronger. I can tell that you hate the way you are right now, I mean seriously- you weren't able to help yourself when we first met, and today you seemed to be thoroughly beaten. Hell, if it wasn't for me then natural selection would have gotten the best of you!"

Dipper felt so exposed at that very moment, the nagging little voice in the back of his head agreeing wholeheartedly with the dragon.

"Luckily, you have a chance to change all that. I can help you learn all kinds of magic, and make it so that you can be your own man! You could be free and not have to worry about anything, since you'd have the power to control your own fate."

The prince glanced down at the book, leafing through it and finding all of Bill's notes in the margins, written in beautiful cursive and gleaming gold. It didn't matter what it was, whether it was plants or animals, Bill had something to say about it. He would add arrows leading to either more information or as a correction, _Harpies are easy to drown, so it is best to lure them to a body of water and then weigh them down with something heavy, like brass._

Once his entries ended he found more of that elegant script, naming new spells and various approaches to successfully execute the spell. With each flip of paper he found more and more spells, charms, incantations, potions and tonics, even the forbidden voodoo and blood magic!

"Dipper, I know you love reading and knowledge but I must tell you- there's no way you could do all that on your own. You need someone to guide you, to teach you and to help you through that knowledge. Once I get my body back I can help you, but first you need to help me."

Dipper saw the point of all this 'niceness', it was to get him to agree to finding the stones for him, and he found it hard to trust the dragon, "I don't know Bill."

"Dipper, you were right- you don't actually have much of an option. I'm trying to make it easy for you kiddo! We can help each other. I am already willing to help as much as I can in this body, but it is limited by the curse. Trust me, I promise you I won't go back on my word."

He couldn't respond, not now.

There were so many things wrong with this deal. He needed to be sure, to know that this was something he truly wanted. That he could trust this strange dragon to help him, and feel like it was the right choice.

Hopefully the dragon could understand this.

"Good night Bill...Thanks for the hospitality, but I can't give you an answer right now."

The dragon backed off, seeing that it would be futile to try and sway Pine Tree to say yes. He huffed again, his feathers rustling as he began to curl up, getting ready to rest.

He made a space for Dipper, grumbling out, "Remember, it's either help me or death. And let me tell you Pine Tree, I am **not** the patient type."

Dipper stayed quiet, crawling onto one of the piles and trying to relax. Thankfully the piles were made of a soft fabric, which Dipper found extremely pleasant to lay on. The fatigue from the day set into his bones, his eyelids growing heavy as he held his journal close to his chest.

There had to be a way to figure out who exactly Bill Cipher was, and whether or not he could be trusted.

Dipper decided that tomorrow he would think of something, for now he welcomed the comfort of sleep.

Dipper had made the trek back to his tower the next morning, Bill giving him directions and informing him of some plants he could eat to curb his appetite. The forestry became familiar, and he even saw some marking on trees that brought happiness to him-

He finally knew where he was and how to get back to the tower.

He hurried along, already planning a big lunch- he laughed to himself, he never thought he would be so happy to be in the tower! The forest began to thin, finally clearing out and showing his temporary home, and Dipper felt _safe._

He made quick work of the lock, thankfully having a spare key hidden in within one of the stones in the tower, smirking as he was met with his little workspace just the way he left it. The prince began making himself food, his stomach demanding sustenance and growling at the pot of soup that was now boiling over the fire. As he left it to finish heating he glanced through the journal again.

Bill's writing was still there, but he noticed the ink was fading slightly. (Probably to remind him to say yes to helping him.)

The book was thicker now, since Bill needed extra space for his spells and such he must have used magic to extend the book. He turned the book on the spine, his fingers tracing over the part where Bill had fused the books, the back panel missing as he added what seemed like another three hundred pages. The spine cover had an addition to is as well, the original one being the rustic burgundy before meeting with a new golden color, with black raised bands replacing the old brass ones. The back panel was now gold as well, with only a single eye to decorate the back.

 _You need someone to guide you, to teach you and to help you through that knowledge._

Dipper set the book down, tending to the pot but still hearing Bill's words from before.

He had always wished he had someone to teach him about magic and such, especially since his grandfather wasn't around to be able to do it. His grunkle Stanley actually didn't like talking about magic and the supernatural creatures, so he always made an effort to keep to himself when Stanley visited.

And his other Grunkle…

He felt tears come to his eyes, remembering how Stanford had used to come play with them with gifts and stories of all his adventures, ruffling their hair with six-fingers. He had given Dipper the magic dagger (which he now realized he lost with the Harpy), and was the first to inspire his love for all the paranormal. But when Dipper had told him about his plans to help map out the world he seemed to be disappointed-

 _"_ _Dipper, maybe you should focus on the kingdom. You have so much talent as an law-maker, and you have all the opportunities and resources to become a great king!" Stanford patted Dipper on his back, slowing to a stop with a cough._

 _"_ _Kid, I don't want you to go out and get killed by the unknown. It's better if you stay here and take care of the kingdom with your family."_

 _Dipper grimaced, holding Stanford's other hand, trying not to stare and the horrid black splotches that resided under his skin, poisoning his blood-_

 _"_ _I was lucky to have a niece and nephew, but I would have liked to spend more time with the family. I suppose now would be the time to wrap up some loose ends."_

 _Dipper couldn't even speak, well aware of what life had in store for Grunkle Stanford._

 _"_ _Stay with your family, Dipper. Adventuring gets lonely, you lose people on the voyages and the monsters make you doubt everything. It's better if you just find a group of people you love and trust and protect them with everything you've got."_

He blinked away the tears, sniffling a bit as he finally move the pot off of the fire, setting it down to grab some utensils and a bowl for himself. Even after Stanford's death he still loved the paranormal. He still loved the stories, wanted to see them for himself. And he felt bad for going against his late Grunkle's wishes but he couldn't bring himself to stay in the castle.

 ** _Y̝̣ͥ̅o̾̒ṳ̳̦̜̺̃̂͊͌͟ ̇̂̒̀̎̋h̡͖̪̩̖̙̱̫͂̈̏̋̍̈́a̙͖̻ͫ̐ͅv̙̮͓̠̦̳͋̉͂e͆ͬ͛̒͢ ͓̟̟͖ͥ̋ͯ̑͋a̛̰̣̯̼̤̼ͫͣ͑ͬ̍ͫͅ ̙̤̻̏̈c̷̎h̰̜ͣͬͧ̇̿͛̋a͉̠͍̟̽ͭͤͮ͂̐̆͘n̤̮̞̣͎͂ͣ̓ͪc̦̻̦ͯͧ̿̓̽͆͛ē͐ͮ҉̺̦͙ ̧̰t̗̫͒o͑͑͌͋̄̈́̚͘ ̹̗̜͋̀ͦͭ̔͑ͪc̶̩̫̰h͙͖͍̪̯̅̃ͦ̒͝ą̣̳͈͖̱̅̊ͫͫ͑ǹ̉̓͐͐̀͊g̀̉̔͏̲̱̼e͓͗ ͐̈́͛̉̄ͥ̚͢ͅa̞̙̣̹̓̔ͯͥ͟l̡̩̩̥̰͇͙͎ͤl̮̯̱̀ ̪̬̥͊͒͝tͯ͋̐̐hͬ̐̚҉ả̰̥̜͍̰̄̽̅̈̄t̶̪̱͓̖̀.̠̫̤̦̙͚̓̓̋̽̐ͅ_**

He poured himself a hearty serving, blowing lightly on the soup before sipping a bit, lost in his thoughts of the enigmatic Bill Cipher. Maybe he could send a letter back home and get Soos to bring him some history books, he still needed to read up on the Cipher Royal Guard anyway. He'd also have to send Mabel a letter, asking about how she's settling in the Northwest Kingdom and her duties as a guard.

 ** _Y̸͉̫̦͉̼͇̎ͭ͋ͧ̾̈́̚õ̲̩̜̲̭̅̍ͬͣ̄ŭ̟̰̯͔̟̜͌̿͘ͅ'̗̟̫͎̈̌̈̓̿̀d͍̞ͮͧ̉͆ͫ̒ͯ ̶̼̣̖h̿ͭ̀̕ȁ̙ͥͬ̓́v̩̭͒ͦ̓ë̮͉͚̜͒ͦ̓ ̷̪̦̣̲̘̥̂́͊ͫͅt̫̤͓h̀̀ͪ̾ͫͪ͏̫̮̦e̱̬͚̼ ̷̜̭p͎̼͔̄ͮͧ̄ͅͅo̪͕̙͙w͉̪̩̫̃͆e̳̞rͫͫ̀҉͚̪̼͓̫̩ ̙̦͎̐͆̔̉͟t̲̼͖͇̦͌o̺̰̲͚̫͆ͣ́ͅ ̼̝̰͚͖͚ͣͧ̌̄̽͒̊c͉͍͉͕͉̲͋̾̂̒̈́o̶̫̞̳ͯͧn͇̱͉͔̖ͤ̆ͅṫ̢͙̬̑ͣ̾̓̌̿r̤̂ͬͯ̍̀ȏ̭̊͗́̓ͩ̆l̜͓͚̹̺͌ͬ͌̀ ̧y̫̭ͤ̉̑o̴͒͒̐̋͋u̫ͦ̐͋̋̎ȑ̡̩̬̦͇͓̇̇̄ͯ ͕̹͉̼͔̪͆ͅoͣ̎҉̣̣w͚͇̥ͪ̈̂͛̈́n̻̘̮̰͕͓͒͘ ͍̲͑̅ͨ̆ͬ͂͐͡f͖̯̠͈̙aͯ҉̞͎͎̪͔̹͙ṫ̹̰̲̋̓̒ͬ̏̀e̡̗̮̭̪͋̉͐ͣ̑.͎̙͛ͣ̾̄̂̚_**

He quickly finished eating, getting up and changing clothes and rubbing lavender on his skin, trying to avoid thinking about Bill's proposal. He decided he might as well read the journal again, hopefully retain what he could before the ink would fade away completely-

"Oh Pine Tree!"

Speak of the devil, Dipper frowned- Bill was certainly persistent. Maybe he could get some more information out of him. He heard thumping from above, curiously coming up to the keep and meeting with the dragon, who comfortably hung off the side-

"Geez princess, lay off the lavender, will you? It's hard to breathe when your nose is being assaulted."

Dipper snorted, shaking his head, "Here to pester me about the quest?"

The dragon smiled in confirmation, "Of course! I can't waste any time now that I'm awake-"

Dipper held up a hand to stop the dragon, "Can you actually tell me more about your situation? I think there's some information that we both need to be aware of."

The golden beast stayed silent for a moment, his eyes searching Dipper, what he searched for was a mystery to the boy though-

"Fine. Again, I am William Cipher of the Cipher Royal Guard. We help rule the Mindscape Kingdom, and provide protection to the kingdom. I've realized since you are not Filbrick's son that a fair amount of time may have passed since the last I woke up."

"So you've fallen asleep before."

"Yes. Two times since I was cursed to be exact. Well you know what they say, third time's the charm!"

The dragon's eyes narrowed, shining with glee as he ruffled Dipper's appearance with a soft blow, "Your hair looks fluffy. Just like a girl's. I swear you are a total princess."

Dipper felt annoyance sting into his chest, ignoring the comment and returning to the bigger questions he had, "So the Cipher Royal Guard...I seriously have never heard of them."

The dragon's expression became serious, "Well, in my time they had been an elite force of knights who also specialized in magic. So, more like if a mage and a knight had a kid that was super talented in both areas, that would be what the Cipher Royal Guard."

"And you're one of them by blood?"

"Wow kiddo, you're on a roll! There are actually two ways to get in, either by blood or by trying out. Another cool thing is that we constantly pass down our information to one another. The spells I gave you are only the most recent, but I have tons of spells at my disposal. If I had to write them down then I would need thousands, no- bajillions of tomes!"

Dipper nodded, he had wrote a lot but he didn't know how they could achieve storing so much information-

"We have our ways, Pine Tree- so don't worry your pretty little head about it!"

The prince sat down, growing tired of standing and trying to pry more info from the old dragon.

"Can you tell me why you're cursed? Cause usually people who get cursed deserve it."

Bill scoffed, snapping his teeth at the boy, "How rude, I didn't deserve it! People abuse power Pine Tree, so all you gotta do is piss off the wrong person at the wrong time and bam, you're cursed!"

Dipper nodded again, "Okay, so what did you do to warrant it?"

The dragon shifted a bit, trying to find another comfortable position, leaning slightly on the tower and avoiding eye contact, "I don't really want to talk about it."

Dipper gave the dragon a look, trying to get him to come out with it already.

"Let's skip that question for now, so how about you shoot me with another?"

He relents, his curiosity only growing stronger as he makes a mental note to definitely ask about it later, "How's it like being a dragon?"

Bill laughs, his teeth baring in a fearsome smile, "Not too shabby, actually. Dragon fights are pretty fun, but rare. I've developed a hoarding problem with gold as you can see, but I think I had that problem as a human but just not as apparent. And I get to meet cute princesses like Dipper."

The brunette felt his face burn, trying to will it away and only making Bill howl with laughter, "I am not a princess! Ugh, shut up Bill!"

"Sorry, it's just so much fun riling you up. Pine Tree, I know that I am the guest of honor here but can I ask what you're doing out here alone in the woods?"

Dipper managed to get his blush under control, briefly explaining the tournament and scouting to the dragon, "That doesn't help me see you as less of a princess."

Dipper was ready to go back inside now, internally screaming, absolutely fed up with Bill's comments-

"Hey, and now you can possibly have a big, strong dragon to fulfil all your princess needs!"

He actually screamed in anger this time, his hands coming up to scratch at his head, "Enough with princess already! I get it, just let it go!"

Dipper turns back to glare at the dragon, barely realizing that the sun was now setting, amazed that he had actually spent the whole day talking with Bill.

After taking a deep breath he lower his voice, softly replying, "Well, it's getting late Bill. I'm going to hit the sack early."

Bill stared at him, and Dipper waved, waiting for the dragon to move from his perch and be on his way. Unfortunately, Bill was also waiting for Dipper to head inside and close the door, so they shared an awkward moment of staring at one another.

Bill managed to break the silence-

"So, Dipper- have you decided yet?"

"Uhm, not really. Sorry. I'll tell you in like...a week?"

"A week? How long is that again? Ugh, nevermind- I'll just visit you everyday till then. The sooner the better Pine Tree, or else the bracelet will corrupt you and I'll go back to sleep."

Dipper nodded, serious, "Don't worry Bill, It won't be long before I decide."

Bill took the initiative and slowly moved off the tower, easily floating up into the air. Dipper watched with awe as the dragon took flight, soaring high above the pines and into the sunset-

It was a sight to behold.

The gleaming dragon's scales shone brightly, nearly blinding Dipper, taking on the colors of the sunset, bathing in it's orange and golden tones. Bill was majestic in the air, gliding easily and entertaining himself with loops and twirls, growing smaller and smaller the further he went.

Dipper quickly swallowed the awe and headed inside, closing the door behind him.

So if he took too long to decide the bracelet would corrupt him? Did that mean that if he also took too long to help Bill collect the stones he would also face corruption? His eyes settled onto the gold, seeing how it gleamed even in the low light of the stairwell.

He thought again of Bill's offer-

 ** _W̡̜̬̟͈̯͖̎ͯ͛̆̆ͫ̽͂ͫ̽̏ͫ͑̐́͠͠e̸̡̨͎̠͔͚̰͈̮̟̬̻̥̥̯͎̹̓̾ͣ̌͋ͤ͊̄ͥ́ ̡̡̺͕͎̗̩̮͉͈̭̰̜̳̝̠̳̣͉ͯ̉͆͊͒̓̓̐ͫ̉̚͝͞c̗͕̹̭̟̞̟̗̼̤͕̻̭̤̾̿̉͊ͫ̚͘ả̵̈́ͥ̌̐͂ͪ̏̍̑ͪ̈́̓̓̓͡͏̶̸̣̟̠̪̘͈͇̟̲̘͎͓̳̝͚̦͚͖͈n͍̩̣̋́̐͑ͮ̈̄̊̂̈ͧ̍ͪ͝ ̗̠͓͚̘̙̩͇̮̭̺̼̹̝͍ͥͦͧ̂̔ͫ̇͢ͅh̶̴̛̲͇̘͖͎͉̙̩̙̫̻͇̮̖̉ͬͬ̂̃̍ͤ͘͢ę̴̛̱̯̫͚̜̘̒ͦ̉̆̈́͠ļ̖̩̤͖̜̖̥̦͈̠̣͖̙̼̥͇̂ͨ͋̏̐ͣ̌̽̈́͆͠p̶̡̞̠̻̝̦̗̲͇̣̆͐̔͂̂̊̂̎̋͂̊̍͂̄͆́̚͟ ̒ͨ͂̔ͧͪ̿ͥͨ̅̀͞҉̸̨͇͈̲̜̟͙͓͎̙͈͚̟̯̘͎̮͔ͅě̴͓̼̲͖̙̮̰͍͙̝̗̩̫͉͓͈͉͎̑̉͛ͨ̎̂̅ͧͫ͊ͧ̒̀̚͠ă̶̶̵̫͕͈̹͙̱̳̥͇̟̲̠͎̮̱̬͙͛ͩͯ̓̎ͫ̍͗̒͗͑̉̇̒̓͑͡c̶̛̰̖̼̻̼̺̼͔̹̟̮͇̯̲͗̐̎̒́̆ͯͪ̾̀ͪ̆̓ͯ̾̇ͧ̕͡h̸̵̉ͤ̒ͭ͛̎͌̒͗̍̍̄̂ͪͮͥͫ̉͠҉̤̰͎̖͜ ̷̨̰͉̜͍̩̤̩̫̲̭̪͇̹̩ͪ̾̉̇̎̍̑ͪ̓͛̚͞o̶̢̜̝̟͚̲̬͎̤͕̰̳̥̯͙̩̠̽͐̆ͮͣ͝ͅt̨͚͖̙̗̹ͬ̈ͥ̾ͦ̎ͭ̂̋̋̀͘͘͜h̵̡̼͔̻̺̻̲̻̮̮̞̜̝͍̪͍̮̖̪̉̄̄̉̇̇͛̍ͨ̚ę̼̣̯͎̻̲͈̥͔̺̲͓͈͙̫̊̄ͧ̄́̆́̕͡͡ͅr̖͙̱̜̦̩̪͉̩̮͑ͥ͌̏ͪ̎͛̈́̑̓ͥ̓̽̾́͠ͅ.͎̠̤̩̫̥̟̱̬́̅ͮ̆̍͆̏̑̿͜͞͝͝_**

 ** _̶̡̘͙̝̜̻͓̘̤̥̪̙̯͕̘̹͒̓͑ͮ͛ͧ͐̂͘̕_**

Dipper felt that voice again, that alluring soft voice that seemed to never fail in showing him reason. In all it's gravelly, distorted ways it had a certain persuasion that was hell to resist. His head hurt after it finished, and he found the bright blue light from his bracelet was fading, being muddled. Dipper supposed this was the 'corruption' Bill spoke of, since it was just like the other time the bracelet had called to him.

With a sigh he began to head to his bedroom-

It looked like he didn't have time to waste, he would sleep on it and make his choice in the morning.

 _ **Author's Notes: Comment and kudos help me get chapters up faster, and they really make my day, so please if you can leave some for me then do so.**_

 _ **[Edit]: Sorry about how it was earlier, I seriously have no idea how that happened. Didn't mean to throw you into that kind of hell ;M;**_

 _ **I had made a cipher for this chapter as a sort of contest here but someone already solved it so yeah, sorry about that. If you still wanna solve it for funsies here it is-**_

A) L WEH BSU KXVTLQK, I GR AHDW M CDP.

 **(B) GZY N BTS'Y XFAJ DTZ**

 **Notes: Two different ciphers are needed, but never twice on one.**


	6. So Fking Romantic

Chapter 6: So F**king Romantic

The prince awoke from his long slumber, sighing as he felt his home rumble, banging on the walls and a muffled voice, "Rise and shine Pine Tree! I've got a couple things to show you!"

Dipper groaned, trying to huddle into his sheets and fall back into his dreamland.

"I will destroy this castle if you don't come out here right now~!"

The dragon's cheerful tone made the threat seem like child's play, and as much as Dipper ached to return to sleep he had no intentions of testing the beast. He rushed out as quickly as he could, not wanting to keep the golden dragon any longer.

He rubbed at his eyes and leaned against the wall, scowling all the while, "It's too early for me to be dealing with you right now."

The prince huffed, regretting uncovering his eyes as the brightly colored dragon assaulted his eyes, "What is so important anyways?"

The dragon seemed to enjoy Dipper's pain, a toothy smile only making matters worse. Pride rolled off the dragon's form, his head held high as he made a swooping motion with his claw; objects appearing out of thin air before being laid on the floor gently. As soon as Dipper had enough time to inspect them he flushed, Bill had attained three of the twelve magical items that he had required for his scouting.

First was the _**Lens of Truth**_ , which was a magical item made in the valley of shadows; assisting the user with finding secret items and passageways. Dipper grabbed the handle, feeling the leathery grip somewhat worn but not enough to warrant a replacement. The lens was thick and round, somehow mimicking an eyeball as five black triangles were positioned like eyelashes.

The next was an item that Dipper wasn't even sure existed, as there was very little proof of its existence, and the fact that this magical object was indeed one of a kind. _**Atlas' Scarf**_ , which was basically a cloth map. Now while that in itself wasn't fabulous, it became important to the wielder, as the map was aware of it's owner's travels! As long as a traveler already (physically) passed areas on the map, they would be able to travel to any point on that path. He had heard of many different methods of actually 'utilizing' its magic, but he knew he'd have to figure out how it truly worked.

Dipper could barely hold back a squeal as he saw the last gift, one of the ultra-rare _**Dagger of Time**_ was now for him to use, which allowed him to slow down time in short bursts while using the blade, as long as he kept the dagger well-fed with blood. The blade wasn't too heavy, and the handle fit comfortably into his hand, bright red inscriptions climbing the metal to the very tip.

The prince made sure to take much care in gathering the items, feeling the fluxes of magic that resided in each object. He never thought he would even attain anything off that list, as most knights seemed to be too dim to know where to actually find the objects, and simply gave his parents more common versions of them (or fakes, he had been so disappointed when the last Atlas' scarf came in and proved to only be a cloth map).

While the boy was gawking at the presents Bill couldn't help but feel something in his chest- like a weird kind of thumping. Sometimes it would happen randomly, like when Dipper laughed too hard or made particular faces. The dragon tried not to internally panic, heart-palpitations usually meant illness, so he hoped that Dipper would just say yes before he died a dragon.

He grew tired of being ignored, using the very tip of his feathery tail to touch Dipper's shoulder, " I had them lying around in the cave just collecting dust, so I thought you might want them."

Dipper isn't sure how to react to such gifts, and turns to the said dragon who had graced him with the magical items. He was certain the face he was making was a mix between awe and sheer joy, as even the dragon's usual smirk softened some.

"I'll help you."

Bill was surprised at the answer, easily shaking it off to offer a sharp smirk, "Wow, if I had know this sooner I would have just given these to you from the beginning."

Dipper gave him a half-hearted glare, "Ha ha, very funny Cipher. I was already going to say yes even without the gifts."

Now _**that**_ truly befuddled the dragon, his pitch jumping an octave in disbelief, "R-Really?! Oh Pine Tree, I never knew you loved me so!"

Dipper face scrunched up as the scaley-idiot fell into a fit of cackles, "Tch, as if! I do enjoy life Cipher, so I need your help with the damn bracelet…"

"Alright, alright, I was just teasing Pine tree!" The happy lilt to the dragon's voice smoothed away the last of Dipper's irritation, and he motioned to the blue gem, "Hey, I meant to ask you before- Is there a way to like, repress the corruption?"

The dragon slithered closer to the boy, his size dramatically changing till he was no bigger than one of those boa constrictor snakes, draping himself across Dipper's shoulders, "Well, if it gets bad then I could extract some of the corruption from the gem. Unfortunately, it also hinders my magic so we need to use it wisely."

The brunette listened, amused that the dragon was now small enough to hold in his arms. The dragon wrapped around his left arm, looping around the back of his neck and leaning his torso against Dipper's head. The boy used his free arm to lightly touch the beast's scales, their smoothness and luster relaxing him somewhat.

Before he knew it Bill had shifted to lay on his right arm, nicking Dipper's bicep with a sharp claw to remind the boy of his deadly nature, easily continuing, " I should update you on the details of the quest, so pay attention."

Dipper frowned at the light sting of pain from his wound, noticing the cut barely beading with bright red drops, "You need to collect three stones for me. The stones are able to neutralize the corruption and help bring one of the seals off of me. So the sooner we find those stones, the better for both of us."

Bill felt a couple of fingers prodding at the base of his feathers, fluffing them and scratching in a way he hadn't known was _so good_. He nearly purred from the motion, leaning into it and going silent for a moment.

He continued to press against the fingers, "There's also a final task but...I'll tell you more about that one later, since it's a bit more complicated. Each stone have obstacles that are specific to them so we'll have to prepare before tackling each one."

Dipper listened through the rest of the explanation, so they would have to go to the Gravity Falls, the Northwest Kingdom, and some place called the Mindscape Kingdom. The dragon seemed to grow bored of being petted, slowly growing larger and larger till he nearly made Dipper fall over from the sudden weight on his shoulders and arms.

The golden serpent-like beast only laughed, squeezing around him, "Since we are already in Gravity Falls we might as well start here. It's an easy stone to retrieve, you just have to show incredible valor to the Multibear and he will hand it over."

Dipper smiled, "The Multibear has it? Well this'll be easy, I've known him since I was a kid."

Cipher merely huffed, getting off of the boy, "I still think you should learn some spells first and get used to using the bracelet."

Dipper nodded, brightening at the anticipation of what kinds of wonderful magic he would master today-

"We'll start off simple, a rising spell should be a good place to start."

The boy groaned, "I already know levitation spells though! We should learn like healing spells, or maybe a fire-spell-"

The dragon's eyes immediately went to red, his voice harsh and unforgiving, "WE ARE GOING TO DO A RISING SPELL AND YOU ARE GOING TO DO IT UNTIL I BELIEVE YOU ARE READY TO MOVE ON."

Bill smiled at seeing the human cower in fear, Dipper was getting too comfortable around him and he needed to assert his dominance over the boy. If he was going to teach the boy magic, he was going to be rough on him, since foundation was key. The boy would thank him later, but for now he needed to be the bad guy.

Dipper was _exhausted_.

Bill had only given him a couple of breaks, watching him as he managed to hold up a feather into the air. They were still going over the same thing and he was somewhat insulted, _did Bill really think he was that bad of a mage_? This was child's play, he could do this in his sleep! **He knew this spell like the back of his hand**!

He felt his control over the feather waiver slightly, shooting it up a bit higher from the sudden rush of emotion. But soon this power became a hindrance, as Dipper lost his grasp over the feather and gravity relinquished it's rightful ownership.

Bill was watching him the entire time, those dumb slitted eyes of his nearly unblinking as Dipper waited for his chance to re-magic the feather to his will. The dragon was well aware of Dipper's boasting of being 'unaffected by his emotions' and 'rational' but he was still pretty sensitive. Bill could go on and on about how fragile the prince could be but he'd rather not compile something even longer than the adjusted journal the prince owned.

Though he wanted to give Dipper a foundation for all his spell casting, do he was going to nitpick at everything until it became second-nature. Oh the boy would definitely be thanking him for this later-

"Emotion is important in spellcasting, dearie. You are probably unaware of this, but I am certain that you have been taught wrong your whole life."

Dipper makes a noise with his tongue, a scowl already onto his lips at the outrageous claim, "Oh really now? Fix me of my horrible upbringing then."

Bill nearly snaps his teeth at the boy's sour tone but manages to hold back for the sake of being a good teacher. Instead he decides to try and channel this to something more productive-

"Give me a moment and I will show you. How about you drop the feather and pick up something with less of a solid form, something more slippery."

Dipper watches as the dragon goes to his satchel, rummaging through the contents before finding a canteen and shaking, the rush of liquid proving it to be half empty. Dipper huffs as the dragon easily opens it and dumps out the water spastically, managing to get it everywhere.

"Try to levitate a single drop of water."

Dipper lets go of the feather, and focuses on the drop of water, trying his hardest to stay calm and lift the damn droplet. Dipper manages to lift it, but the water is indeed slippery, quivering constantly as Dipper is forced to adjust and readjust. Frustration seeps into his body, and the quivering intensifies.

 _Stay calm Dipper, don't let it bother you-_

"Okay, you're probably getting really pissy about that water, huh Pine Tree? The damn thing doesn't have too much solidity like this, so you're probably doing some deep-breathing exercises to keep calm or whatever- right?"

Dipper can't even spare words lest he break his concentration, so he simply nods.

"Well stop that shit. It's dumb and counter-productive, not to mention it being extremely exhausting."

Dipper feels his anger flare once more, and he tries to squelch the feeling from breaking his concentration-

"No, you're still doing it! I can tell by that constipated look on your face! You're not actually concentrating on keeping that stupid droplet up! Stop being a dumbass and actually focus!"

Dipper opens his eyes, not having realized he had them screwed shut and glared at the beast. The water instantly falls to the ground and Bill smiles, "Good. Now just think of the water. I don't care how much you bitch and whine, just focus on actually keeping the water up."

Dipper grumbles and focuses on the water. Again, it rises through the air shakily, as the laws of physics dictate the liquid to try and spill over once more. Dipper tries his best to remain neutral, and lock away the emotions that begin to ebb into his being-

"Stop, stop, stop! You insolent little boy! I'm fucking helping you out and yet you can't even follow my instructions! I might as well just end this and head back to the cave to prepare for my next slumber-"

At the insinuation of Dipper being useless again the boy no longer focuses on his task, instead turning to Bill and letting the emotion rip through him, "Well, you're a pretty pathetic teacher too! Seriously, how do you think this is going to be of any help to me! You're wasting my time here, I could be one step closer to getting this damn bracelet off and you're just there bitching about how weak I am."

Even as Dipper rants though, he hadn't completely stopped the spell, and the thrum of magic flows so easily now that he doesn't even notice it as foreign.

Bill watches quietly, seeing as the droplet in the air form a perfect little sphere, and soon, more circular droplets begin to rise into the air. The sunlight makes the whole forest glitter beautifully, and Bill is aware that although the bracelet has indeed amplified Dipper's spell, most of the magic is still indeed from the prince. A triumphant smirk full of pointed teeth slivers onto the scaled-beast's mouth, and yet Dipper seems to have failed to notice his own work.

"Dipper-"

"No! I am tired of you fucking bitching and whining as I'm here trying to do a simple spell! I want you to fucking respect me-"

"Dipper-"

"And I will fucking get it! Remember, you need my fucking help to get that dumb curse off of you anyways! Don't brush me off like I'm some dumb kid-"

The dragon's patience was waning, and he grew large, blue fire beginning to build in his throat and trickle past his fangs, his eyes flashing blue with magic to match the roar that booms throughout the forest, "DIPPER."

The boy finally stops, stiffening and waiting for the beast to get to the point, "Look."

And Dipper finally did, amazed at the levitation he was in charge of. Now that he wasn't rambling he felt a flush come to his features at the realization-

Apparently, by letting go of his emotions, he had grasped a better control of the spell… and even doing it ten fold. Dipper was once again too entranced by the beauty before him to try and retaliate to the smug expression on the dragon's face, amazement seeping into his being as he realizes what is happening.

Pride swells deep in his scaly chest at being proven right once again, and the dragon was preparing for taunting and mockery-

Yet he lost all the words as soon as Dipper turned his gaze to him, the light from the droplets reflecting so beautifully onto his face and chestnut hair; but even more tantalizing was the light in his eyes. Bill felt his heart tremble before doing a particularly strange lurch towards his sternum, as if deciding to betray him and instead pledge service under the young prince.

The beast was well aware of what was unspoken between them, something akin to things he only read in fairy tales and, by Gosh and his son Jeepers-

 _WHY WAS THIS SO FUCKING_ _ **ROMANTIC?!**_

Dipper began without any prompting, "How...How did you know that?"

Bill had never been one with words, but for some reason he found it especially difficult to express himself in that moment, "Y-your foundation, completely wrong!" he barely managed to respond.

He steeled himself and snapped out of whatever trance he had accidentally slipped into, "I knew I had to uproot all the bad habits you learned! Not that it's completely your fault sapling, but it is a pain to deal with-" and soon his usual charm returned, now at full blast with the implied praise Dipper had given him, "But I am such a generous and powerful mage, so you should be honored to have me devote time to your petty little cause."

Dipper seemed to lose that beautiful light in his eyes once he finished, the spell dropping immediately and his heart dropping along with the water onto the ground. The dragon's heart revolted in the only way it knew, sending him a small pang of pain as the prince returned to his usual aloof self.

"Wow, I can't believe that actually happened, what the actual _fuck._ " the prince's voice plastered with disappointment.

Dipper looked like he was so done with spells and dragons and magic, and the next bad thing would set him off; make him drop all his items and fucking walk away from this inevitability. Bill felt at ease once more at the tone, _no he was not mourning that fleeting moment_ , he was much happier to be past that disgusting _whatever_ that he will stop thinking about now. Trapped in his own denial the dragon fails to see Dipper begin to pick up the things that Bill had tossed out in his wild search for the canteen.

"Hey, I'm going to head back to the castle now."

Bill hummed in response, shrinking to once again rest on the boy's shoulders without disturbing him, "It's boring at the cave, and if we want to be efficient I should just stay with you."

Dipper huffed, "Yeah, I guess so. You don't need anything in particular, right? Like you won't suddenly grow in size during the night?"

"Wow, I am so insulted right now."

"Shut up, I just wanted to be sure. I don't wanna have to wake up and see you crammed within my tower."

"Maybe I should just destroy it then!"

"Ugh, please don't be so annoying."

And they squabble the whole way back, going back and forth until they see a single crow perched on the door handle, holding a beautiful red-violet envelope in it's beak. Dipper takes it from the black bird, studying the intricate swirls and designs of pink providing a lush background, and a large pink ribbon hiding it's contents. In lovely loopy letters, the jet black ink spells out his name.

"Oooooooooh, someone's got an admirer! I thought only princesses got love letters!"

Dipper's rage consumes him once more at being called a princess, and he shoves Bill off his shoulders and manages to get inside his castle once the bird moves, "I hate you."

Bill easily laughs off the statement and quickly scampers inside, scratching Dipper's arm once again in retaliation, "Fine, do whatever your dumb little heart desires, it makes no difference to me."

Dipper noticed the Crow had also made a home with them, it most likely wouldn't leave without a response.

At the thought of the envelope he felt a small hope build in his chest, maybe this was a proper guard? Possibly smart enough to train or magick a bird to stay without being present was certainly interesting, and he had hoped it was meant to be so he can finally get his parents off his back.

The prince skimmed the letter, and soon found that it was indeed a offer for protection, but also for a chance at _gaining his hand_.

He couldn't stop and help the blush that rushed to fill his cheeks with color, as the letter-sender was already winning so many points in his favor. Yes, this man was definitely intelligent, and had a certain way with words that made Dipper intrigued, excited, and-

Absolutely _giddy_.

He heard the dragon climbing onto the table, his sharp claws scraping against the wood and he decided to hide the letter from his eyes, as he knew the beast would ridicule him with any material he got. The brunette huffed and folded the letter before Cipher could get a good look at it, and shoved it back into the envelope it came in. Dipper made sure to keep the letter away from Cipher's grasp at all times, this was a private affair and it would stay that way!

So he finally found time to look at the letter once more when the cursed beast finally laid to rest, only using the dim light from a candle to go over the lovely proposal. Dipper was probably swooning over it too much but he couldn't help but find this mystery suitor to be so _alluring_. He had to stifle his swooning to simply closed-lip giggles and biting his lower lip while smiling like a goof, trying not to wake that wretched creature.

How could he **not** be delighted at this, it's his _first love letter_! And this time it was indeed actually for _**him**_ and not for his sister for once!

Possible replies already began forming in his head, yet he knew he had to wait till morning to put them to paper.

The prince let a sigh escape from his lips, and he felt his eyes grow heavy with sleep, the exhaustion of the day once again attempting to weigh him down for a rest. Dipper didn't even have the energy to put away his letter, instead holding it close to his chest as he drifted off to sleep…

Bill quietly blew out the candle Dipper had been using to read once he was certain the boy had fallen asleep and crept over to get another look at his face.

Although he wanted to sleep curled up next to the boy he knew Dipper would have none of that, and resisted the temptation. The only light left was the moonlight spilling from the window and the light blue glow that came with the bracelet.

Bill sighed, seeing it grow already very murky from their day's training, and wondered how much longer the boy could hold out without any purification.

The dragon hated the feeling of a purification, how it ran amok in his veins and bones, and each one more intense than the last as it ate away at his magic. He rarely liked to do it for his helpers, he had even lost one of his past helpers since he refused to purify her bracelet due to the ickiness it brought.

Bill wanted to leave, to not worry about the purification and wait it out a bit longer-

But all he could see was that damned paper, and how lovesick Dipper became in merely minutes.

With a sigh he pulled whatever corruption he could from the bracelet, despite his internal battle, and left it even clearer than usual. The dragon let out a soft hiss at the pain that had shot through his system, like electricity that only kept going and going as if to try and burn him from the inside out-

And he let out a breath once it was over.

The cursed man gave a weird smile, remembering the bittersweet chocolates that his mother gave him that had never failed in making his face twist in such a fashion-

Bill never thought he would hate something more than purification, but it seems that he had just found it.

Dipper found the crow dead in the kitchen, only a spray of blood and lots of bones left behind as proof that the damn bird even existed.

"Seriously? You ate the bird?"

"Hey, you overslept and I got hungry. Not my fault that the damned thing stayed."

Dipper grabbed a towel and was about to use some water he had collected the night before to wet the rag-

"Bill...that's disgusting."

"Cmon! I left a little for you cause I knew you'd be hungry too."

"Bill, this is just the heart. And you covered it in common basil?"

Bill stopped replying and quickly turned his attention to exploring the castle once more, and Dipper simply tossed out the heart and went to make sure the dragon wouldn't cause too much damage.


	7. Victorious

Chapter 7: Victorious

The prince and the dragon had practiced all week on various things, such as spell casting and close combat. It was hard and sometimes Dipper got frustrated, but Bill was actually not too bad of a teacher. He was willing to try different perspectives, allowing Dipper many options and tools to grasp the concepts.

In seven days, Dipper felt ready to face Multibear and retrieve the first stone.

Now the boy had already come across the huge creature before, and even became friends with him. But he still knew how powerful the Multibear was, and he had no idea if he would cooperate with them without a fight.

Once they passed the first Oak tree and the small home of the gnomes, he was only paces away from the bear's abode. The dragon, who had been hitching a ride on Dipper's shoulder, had immediately jumped off and onto the nearest tree.

"Hey, what's wrong?" The boy began, giving the dragon a curious look.

Bill sighed and pressed onto something invisible, a barrier was preventing Bill from falling over, "Seems like I can't go with you princess."

Dipper felt a scowl come onto his face, despite being a decent teacher, Bill still was as irritating as ever. "Oh. Uhm..."

Bill made a gesture with his hand, his eyes gleaming mischievously, "Oh? Are you worried princess? I didn't think you were unsure about this."

Dipper felt an ucky feeling rise into his throat, burning like venom and forcing his expression to sour, "No. I just was wondering if you were going to take it down or something."

A moment of silence passes between them and Bill breaks it a bit roughly, "I think you're well equipped, and I've been teaching you all week. You should be fine."

Dipper glances down at the dirt, collecting himself. Again, Bill awkwardly tacks on, "If you don't feel confident then I'll rip a hole in this barrier and go with you. But I really do think you can handle this."

Dipper's gaze returns back to the golden dragon, who is curled comfortably on the branch yet making sure the upper half of his body is upright. At first the prince thinks the dragon is being lazy, but searching him it seems that he does trust in him.

Dipper smiles softly at the beast, confidence leaking into his words, "No, I feel like I'm good. I can do this."

It's the first time in a long time that someone has trusted him to do something on his own. (Well, outside the realm of law-making and problem-solving). He would have never expected it to come from a cursed-man-dragon-snake but hey, life is odd like that sometimes.

The dragon gives him a toothy grin, "Knock em dead then. Oh, and if you do need me just send a flare up, I'll feel it and be by you before it goes out."

Dipper nods and smiles again, somewhat proud of being someone Bill trusts. He has no trouble going past the barrier, not even glancing back as he presses onwards. (He also didn't want for Bill to think he was nervous.)

A few knocks at the little wooden cottage and he was met with the magical creature.

"Dipper Pines! How nice of you to visit. Come inside and have some tea."

Dipper followed the bear inside, seems like the home hasn't changed a bit since the last time he came. Cluttered with all kinds of magical artifacts and old books, stacks of items grouped on the floor based on type. The mismatched furniture is haphazardly arranged to fit in what spaces were available, and scarce since Multibear isn't too fond of large groups. Empty cups of tea were also perched on any available flat surfaces, including piles of books and even one of the lamps.

The boy made sure not to step on any of the loose papers, the wooden boards creaking with the sudden weight. Dipper laughed, "It's good to see you again, Multibear. We should chat over tea, and also I need to ask you for something."

The furry beast leaves the prince to start brewing another pot of tea, finding a clean cup for his guest, "Once again, I am sad to inform, that I am not talented enough to make you a love potion! You should really leave that red-headed maiden alone."

Dipper flushes and takes a seat by the wooden dining set, clearing some of the books before responding, "Ah, I have left Wendy alone, actually. She's engaged now, so I had to accept that she's my friend. But that's not what I've come to ask for."

Tea time with Multibear was always nice, and Dipper was sad that he wasn't able to talk more with the enchanted beast. He felt that there was never enough time in the world for their chats. The bear served him a steaming cup of rose petal tea (Dipper's favorite), and took the only other available chair across the table.

"I am looking for an enchanted stone. It's supposed to come in a set of three, and someone told me you have it."

The thing with Multibear is that he was easy to read. Despite the most centered head being a master at maintaining a poker face, the others easily conveyed his emotions. He could even properly express mixed emotions through multiple faces! Dipper saw a couple of the faces frown, and the others scowled angrily.

Multibear spoke calmly though, "So you've met that dragon. I do indeed have the stone you seek, but I can't help but wonder how he's roped you into helping him."

Dipper reveals his left hand and studies the sudden sadness and understanding that appear from the bear, "Oh yes, the cursed bracelet. Even William cannot undo such a fate."

The prince nearly forgot that Bill was a nickname, that the dragon was indeed William Cipher. "Do you know anything about him? I meant to try and go back to the kingdom and read up on him but I've been stuck at a castle nearby."

Multibear nods, "He is from the Mindscape Kingdom, and he's quite powerful. He does speak the truth about his position, he is of the Cipher Royal Guard, but my intuition believes that he is indeed hiding secrets about what else he does."

Dipper sips his tea, letting the slight sweetness spread onto his tongue and savors the warmth that travels into his body. He listens closely, "I haven't read all the books I own though, and my spell casting is too crude to be of aid. Feel free to search my collection though."

Dipper nods and casts a soft 'Comb through, William Cipher.' To get all the books together that have the name in them and frowns at the pesky stack that settles before him.

"What about the stone? He told me I had to prove my valor to you..."

"Not to me, to the stone. Only someone with valor can pull it from the wall. Unfortunately, that wall is inside my house, and as a large animal, wrestling me counts as courageous."

Dipper laughs, "That makes sense! You didn't realize that you had a stone in your wood?"

"I did, I just wasn't aware of it being important! I just thought it was pretty, like how the rubies are valuable but not necessarily magic."

The two continue talking over tea, catching up and going through the stack of books about Bill. (Which is a measly five.)

Most of them only confirm his name, position, and residence. The only other scraps of information he can get are about Bill being a child prodigy in regards to magic, one mage even claiming that Bill to magic is like a fish to water. They finish the last book and Multibear stands, "Let's move into a different room for the rough-housing, alright?"

Dipper gulps down the rest of his lukewarm tea and joins the bear, leaving his items in a pile on the floor and stretching a bit before entering the next room.

This room is empty, with only a intricate carpet and a small light for the room. Although the stone also provides a light, a crude triangle glowing bright red comes from the wall.

"Whenever you're ready, Dipper."

The boy nods and they begin their tussle, Multibear makes sure to keep his claws away from the boy and only uses his strength and his limbs to fight. The prince feels his heart racing, and feels a bit blessed that his small body allows him to sneak out of some of Multibear's holds. Unfortunately though, this also means the beast is also incredibly hard to pin down.

Though the tussle back and forth, and even have some close calls, Dipper manages to get the beast to trip on him, quickly getting on top as a pathetic way to weigh him down.

A small thud follows, and Dipper sees the red light move-

"Good job my prince. You seem to be well versed in combat. Still a bit new, but fluent enough to protect yourself."

Dipper puffs up at the praise and gets off of Multibear, helping the creature up to his feet, "Ah, thank you. I usually don't like it but I need to if I am to travel for the stones."

The stone had indeed fallen from the wall, and Dipper quickly picks it up, taking in the weight of the rock. Its red light once again shines brighter, pulsing softly, and Dipper uses his free hand to lightly trace the mark- it's surprisingly warm. He decides to stop playing with it and pockets it, gathering his heap of items before thanking Multibear for his help.

"All I ask is that you be careful young prince. We still don't know much about Cipher, but I know for a fact that he is dangerous."

Dipper nods, "Of course, Multibear. Thanks again for everything. I'll be sure to visit you once all of this is over."

He saunters out easily, proudly even. The prince sends a small wave behind and heads back to the tree where he had left Bill, the sun was still barely peeking over the horizon. The dragon is actually higher up in the tree, basking in the light rays and Dipper takes a moment to admire his gleaming scales, the golden dragon was certainly a beautiful sight.

Bill must have sensed his presence and he easily climbed off of the tree, "So you got the stone?"

Dipper smiles and easily retrieves the stone, showing it off with a little shake and Bill cackles, "Atta boy! We better get a move on though, we don't wanna be caught in the thick of the woods once midnight falls."

Dipper nods and passes through the barrier, already grasping at the khaki scarf-map around his neck before being stopped by a large talon-

"I know I said we should make haste, but I think we might have enough time to take a detour of the skies."

Dipper felt his heart leap at the thought of flying, and he secured his satchel and items before hesitantly mounting the dragon. His nerves flared up, as he had no clue how exactly to hold onto the beast, hands shaking as he tried his best to mask his inexperience.

Bill snorted softly, "Get a good hold, cause I don't fly slow. And also, watch the feathers, if I feel you plucking them I'mma eat you alive."

Dipper tried to laugh off the statement yet his hands betrayed him once more, as what little hold he managed to get on the dragon tightened, conveying his feelings. Without warning Bill shot up high into the air with a delighted cackle, much higher than the tops of the pines and Dipper screamed- clearly unprepared for such an ascent. And indeed he was going fast, even being dickish enough to do a couple of trick with Dipper as his passenger-

"No, no more loops! I swear I will vomit on your feathers if you do another!" the boy pleaded, his voice somewhat hoarse from all the screaming, but also strangely breathy?

Bill felt his feathers fluff up, he didn't really care if Dipper got sick, but there was no way in hell he would allow for the kid to hurl on his lovely plumage. The boy managed to get ahold of his nausea and stayed quiet, enjoying the view and feeling his torso fill up with something else-

The sunset was beautiful, orange and yellow fading to red and the clouds seemed closer than ever, wispy and fluffy. The forest was just barely getting ready to sleep, as the crickets began their lullabies. Dipper could see farther than ever, watching the pines stretch further and further, standing proud and swaying slightly with the wind.

Soon he felt the beast descend, and returned his gaze to the dragon, still admiring how the sunlight reflected off of his scales. The prince reached over, trying to find the spot that Bill liked being scratched and smiled as he heard the rumble from the scaly beast-

"Thank you."

"For what?" Bill asked, easily letting the boy back onto the ground.

"For...Everything." Dipper felt his face heat up, and he couldn't really find the words to explain it.

This was everything he could have ever wanted to be honest. He was free from his princely duties, he was traveling and researching just like his Great-Uncle Ford, and he even was able to get stronger with magic and prove that he wasn't some defenseless child. His life was no longer boring and filled with hypotheticals, he was actually achieving things now, exploring and gripping life by the reigns. He always craved for adventure, his time had finally come thanks to the dragon.

Bill stayed quiet, unsure of how to respond.

"You should rest Dipper. You've done very well." he prompted, despite it being a bit unnatural, it was still very much genuine.

"I'll teach you how to use the stone to purify your bracelet. Unfortunately, if we use it now to remove my seal it won't be able to cleanse the jewelry, so I say it's best if you hold onto it for now."

The prince nods and watches as the dragon shrinks, giggling as he extends an arm for Bill to grab onto, taking him inside and preparing for a quick dinner then heading straight to bed.

Dipper falls asleep easily, as the fatigue from the day and his victory provides inspiration for his dreams.

At the rumble and boom the prince is ripped from his slumber, fear and confusion tugging at his chest.

He can hear Bill cackling outside and the smoke and magic fills his senses.

Dipper rushes to the nearest window, wondering what is going on outside-

He was met with a sight that looked like it came straight from a fairytale.

The dawn barely creeping from over the horizon as a knight in red-violet and pink stands at full height, holding a flag with a heart on it and with his spear tucked under his arm. His fuchsia breastplate gleams with the sun, but it is not nearly as glamorous as Bill's scales, which seem to be glittering especially golden today.

Bill looks scarier than ever, his teeth in full view and his black feathers puffed up to hide his neck entirely. He certainly looked feral, as his eyes were tinged red and his claws aflame with azure heat.

If the colors didn't make it obvious, Dipper knew that their visitor was indeed the same as his suitor, and that he may have misunderstood the situation when Dipper mentioned a dragon-

The castle shook once more, it seems that Bill was blocking Tova from getting the door, and trying to scare him off. The shaking was being caused by Tova, using some sort of magical item in attempt to move Bill, but only managing to get him to slam against his tower.

Dipper scowls, sticking his head out the window, "Will you idiots stop fighting?! I am trying to sleep!"

 ** _Author's Note:_** ** _Hello again! I am unfortunately back in school now so I will be dying so hopefully I can still find time to write and such, since I definitely have a clearer direction for this fic! Comment and Kudos really help, so if you would be as so kind as to leave some they would really make my day and motivate me to pump these out quicker! *runs to class in the rain* Until next time!~_**

 _ **[EDIT]: I seriously don't know why fanfiction continues to upload my chapters in code, and it's freaking annoying. Sorry again to all who managed to see this blunder, and thank you to those who pointed it out and were patient with me. I hope you enjoy and again I am super sorry!**_


	8. A New Challenger Appears!

Chapter 8: A New Challenger Appears!

Next Cipher: Ykn gdwn jz zyjgg fdwjel ykadxlk ft kreoz

J'f qxjgojel reo frhjel r qnrxyjmxg ykjel

Ykry vjgg enwna qn fron rlrje

Dipper hadn't thought that waking up the next afternoon would be so...awkward, for lack of a better term.

His shouting from the crack of dawn hadn't fully gotten them to stop, but enough to at least to get Tova to stop banging the damn dragon against the tower. Dipper had to really ignore the clangs of metal and the bitter scent of soot and magic, but he managed.

Dipper spares another glance towards the man, his suitor, trying to gather as much as he could in that one moment.

Tova Anwir.

Tova Anwir was a lovely man, not too bulky but undeniably strong. He seemed to be capable of holding his own against Bill, both a magic user and a natural fighter. He even had done some research, as he managed to find a spell that was specifically made for dragons (hence why Bill was forced to hold onto the tower for dear life).

Dipper giggled softly to himself at the thought of Bill being forced off the ground and tossed around like a rag doll, and a part of him begged for revenge for the crazy ride from the day before.

The prince quickly returned to studying his suitor, trying to hold back the blush that rose to his cheeks-

To put it lightly, he was gorgeous.

His hair fell around his face in soft chocolate waves, his fair skin practically glowing, and striking emerald eyes that seemed to be even more enchanting than any spell Dipper has found. Tova seemed to be too good to be true, he was strong and intelligent, polite yet charming, magical and practical!

Dipper didn't realize his 'studying' was in fact blatant gawking, and Tova noticed easily that the boy was sizing him up. He did his best not to be too embarrassed, as he had already become well acquainted with the Pine's Family as he had set off to seek the prince's hand in marriage, but none of the family paintings seemed to capture the beauty known as Prince Dipper Pines. The love-stricken knight only hoped that they could rid him of this dragon soon, and then be well on their way to a happy future together-

"It's nice to finally meet you, my sweet prince."

Dipper wasn't even able to react before the other man was on one knee, gingerly taking his hand and brushing his lips against the back of his hand.

The prince found it impossible to stop the rush of heat to his face, and giggled once more, "Ah, the pleasure is all mine, Tova."

The man brightened at being addressed so airily, laughing along, "I know it might be a bit soon, but I really would like to be near you, my prince."

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen anytime soon." Bill quickly interrupted, his small form landing on their connected hands and untangling them as he skitters up his arm to perch on Dipper's shoulder-

The knight gives a confused look, so Bill elaborates, "I got here first, so quit the fucking flirting, it's gross."

Tova gave only the slightest of frowns before returning to a more cheerful state, "Don't worry Dipper, I will definitely help you get this snake out of your business."

Bill seethed, unconsciously hissing and his feathers fluffing up in response, Dipper simply sighed, "You two really can't get along, huh?"

It takes another few minutes of Tova and Bill spitting remarks and insults at eachother and Dipper mediating before they can settle on something akin to a truce.

Dipper explains to Tova about his quest and is immediately offered assistance, as the fuschia knight elects himself to be the one to protect him-

"You need to be protected my dear prince, so allow me to do all the fighting."

Dipper huffs just a bit at the insinuation of being defenseless and quickly sends a levitation spell on Tova and flips him to make a point.

"I am thankful for your offer but I am in no way defenseless."

He drops Tova once that point is made, a smile forming at hearing the clank of armor hitting the floor, and seeing how disorientated the knight was from his spell. Magic was getting easier now, especially since Bill had made sure he had a strong foundation.

Bill snickers and nuzzles Dipper's neck, "Good one, kiddo."

Dipper feels a swell of pride at Bill's praise, and starts gathering his things for his next trip. Once he rights himself, Tova returns once again, dropping to one knee, "I didn't mean to offend you my sweet prince. Please allow me to offer my strength to you-"

"Buzz off loser, Dipper doesn't need your help, he's already got me! You'll get in the way more than anything." the dragon spits out, his words laced with venom.

Dipper seems to ignore the dragon's protests, and nods, "Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated, Tova."

The knight seems to brighten at the approval and quickly follows them, ignoring the glare sent by the dragon. Tova trudges behind as Dipper checks the map once more, Bill still on his shoulder as he guides them towards the Northwest Kingdom.

Dipper was actually really excited for the next part of his quest.

Visiting the Northwest Kingdom meant being able to see his twin again, and hopefully they could have some time to catch-up, and possibly have some tea. He had sent a magical telegram ahead, notifying his twin of their arrival and wondering how she would greet them-

He didn't have long to guess, because as soon as he reached the pearly-white gates of the kingdom he saw his twin decked out in a bright pink and silver armor, accompanied by some other steeds.

Dipper slowed his gait to a complete stop, opening his arms and preparing for the tackle-hug his sister was notorious for. It was obvious she had been trying to contain her laughter and joy, as a loud cheer finally escaped (unfortunately right beside his ear, but it wasn't like he hadn't had that happen before).

The prince laughed once the pain had subsided, allowing for Mabel to lead the entourage into the city, and Dipper couldn't help but feel puzzled-

"Mabel, where is Princess Pacifica?"

Mabel waved her hand, "She gave me the day off! Well, I asked for the day off since I got the telegram, but she allowed it! So don't worry about stuff like that-"

"But Mabel, I told you I needed help locating the stone of knowledge, and I am sure the Princess would know where it is." Dipper quietly explained, completely oblivious to the irritation that seemed to trickle onto Mabel's expression.

"But brother! We can get to those matters later, we need to spend time together and catch up! I'm sure taking a break from your quest won't be too bad, and I haven't seen you in like, months!"

Once Mabel started pouting Dipper found it increasingly hard to say no to her. Tova seemed keen on this idea as well, so really the only protester was Bill. His feathers were ruffled and seemed to only grow poofier with each passing second, but he managed to contain his snarky comments.

Dipper smiled and easily found that spot within his mass of feathers where Bill liked and made sure to give him a nice long scratching session, and the dragon acquiesced easily after that.

"Set up a meeting with the Princess tomorrow, and I guess we can rest up for a bit." the dragon clearly stated, purring a bit at the end as Dipper dug his nails in just a bit harder. Mabel seemed to be ecstatic, cheering and linking arms with her brother and Tova before dragging them towards the city.

They meandered around the town, loving the bustle of the markets despite some of the sootier citizens ignoring them in favor of talking amongst themselves, but Mabel had found a niche of her own in the town.

Apparently her fellow guards Candy and Grenda also had the day off, to which the group only grew merrier. Mabel had even found someone who sold magic items and potions, nudging Dipper to check out their wares in the hopes that he could find some rare items for sale.

The store was set up also with magic, the dark blue drapery acting as the walls and suspended in midair with some sort of structural spell. The various items were sorted by their effects and their size, the only exception to this was the potions which had a section all on their own and categorized by intended use. It was amazing, whoever was keeping up the shop must have a large amount of magic to throw around-

Mabel rushes up to what appears to be the shopkeeper, a young female with a veil covering the lower-half of her face and a hood that barely managed to hide light brown locks.

"Paz! I'm so glad that you decided to open up shop today, my brother is going to be so excited!"

The female seems to be shocked at her statement, her voice coming out soft and cautious, "Mabel, my future sight forewarned me of a prince coming, and that I am to aid him-"

"Well, I forgot to mention to you that my brother and I are indeed royalty! I can prove it to you too!"

Before Paz can get any more out she sees Mabel flash her the Pines family crest, knocking it against her armor and smiling as it doesn't even scratch from the rough handling. Mabel laughs as Paz simply nods, "Of course, thank you for that Mabel."

Her eyes turn to Dipper, easily picking him out with her electric green eyes, which glow eerily, "So, you want to be a hero, am I right?"

Dipper gives a slow nod, "Well, it's more than just charging into battle and swinging around an axe. I want to be a hero, but more importantly...I want to help those in need and explore the unknown."

The girl narrows her eyes at the dragon coiled around him, "And you think having the dragon as your mentor will help you achieve that?"

Dipper falters once more, stunned at her abilities, "I think so. To be truthful, I sort of have no choice…"

He lifts his left wrist, showing off the glittering cursed jewelry, golden and azure, with the eye gem seemingly smiling and content with their progress. Paz nods, her gaze growing softer, "Ah yes, it's that time once more, isn't it? I've heard many heroes dying from having their fates twined with Cipher's."

Her eyes seem to drag slowly back to Dipper's, he can already hear the air tense with her next comments, "Maybe heroes aren't strong enough for such a fate?"

Tova bristles, hating how the woman exudes arrogance and sharp wit, especially so directed at his beloved and begins to speak-

Only to be silenced by a wave of her dainty hand, and unable to even form any sort of noise past breathing-

"Side characters shouldn't be so quick to take the stage." She simply remarks, her eyes crinkling at the corners as the only indication of a smile.

Dipper seems to shake out of his stupor, and with Bill huffing a hot gust of air onto his neck he boldens-

"Can you possibly help me with this curse? Or in my task to undo it?"

She nods fondly, "Of course, I am meant to seek you out afterall. I will help you find the princess and gain the stone of knowledge. I will also have another role to play later on, but we must at least clear a few things."

Dipper hated how she was so adamant about her foresight and so certain in their future but followed nonetheless. If she was offering help than he would take it. Mabel stood before them as well, unsure of her part in all this. She knew that bonds and plans were being made, but alas she was being left out in all of them! She caught her brother looking at her and offered a smile-

Ah yes, support. She would always support Dipper in any way possible. While maybe this seemed out of her realm she would simply pay attention and lend her strength when they needed her most. Yes, she could arrange a meeting with the princess, and she was the one to bring Dipper to Paz. And she could help Dipper in his time in the Northwest Kingdom.

Dipper seemed reassured with just one smile, and by then she already knew he had grown up so much without her. The main pair continued to talk and Mabel could already feel herself being more and more closed out from the conversation.

Like Paz said, side characters should wait before entering, so maybe this was her cue to stay low.

Her eyes drew to the new friend Dipper had brought along, and she saw how...flowery he was.

Right, flowery is an odd way to describe someone, but it made perfect sense. This Tova fellow was too nice. Not that being nice was bad, but something about it didn't feel genuine. And he was all about putting on a big fuss, hence Paz made it clear that he wasn't such a major role here.

"One of the flowers is poisoned Mabel."

Paz had said that to her before, which was crazy because there were no plants in sight when she admitted it. The way she seemed to urge the significance of this line seemed to be bad though, and Mabel felt her stomach turn.

Yes, it would seem that she would have to support Dipper, by making sure he didn't get the rose by the thorns.

"Hey Mabes...You're friends with Paz, right?" DIpper quietly began when they were alone in the lot they were spending the night in, Tova gone to take a bath and Bill napping in one of Dipper's cloaks.

It was an easy enough question, but once again he was digging for more. Mabel nodded, "Yup! I met her not too long ago, she had dropped some of her wares on one of my patrols and I helped her. She seems a bit strong at first but she really is good."

Dipper searched for any inadequacies, any hints of distrust to betray her expression. Easily enough though, she did believe in Paz, and nothing came to give any other indication.

The prince smiled, "It's just like you Mabes, to make a quick friend like that."

Mabel laughed, it seemed like she did seem to have it easy when it came to making friends.

Paz's warning drifted back to her mind, and she began to dig, "So, how did you meet Tova?"


	9. Riddle Me This

Chapter 9: Riddle Me This

Next Cipher: 648 729 648 595 2485 7 319 41 2434 2918

It had been a week since the damned dragon and his entourage arrived in the Northwest kingdom.

Strange to say it was mainly since the princess seemed to have gone missing, fleeing the same night that she had relieved Mabel of her duties, and throwing the entire kingdom into a gossiping mess. The King and Queen seemed adamant about lying to the entire kingdom though, and Dipper was called in secret to talk with the royals-

"We need you to find the princess and make sure she isn't harmed." King Northwest spoke, not an ounce of affection or true worry in his voice.

"I've heard wind that there's an awful sorceress named Paz who has decided to keep our daughter hostage. If this is so then please also bring back the heart of the wicked woman, as such an action against the Northwest Royal family cannot be left unpunished." his wife finished off, too busy with fixing her appearance to truly regard Dipper properly.

All in all it more or less seemed like the more cliche and usual quest for a hero like himself-

"Maybe heroes aren't strong enough for such a fate?" echoed Paz's voice in his head.

Dipper really didn't know what to think. Mabel seemed to trust the female magician, and he wanted to think that his twin had good judgement. But he wouldn't allow for her to kidnap a princess simply for her own selfish reasons, it wasn't fair! Then again, if princess Pacifica isn't in any way harmed it seemed difficult for him to truly want to carve out her heart simply because the King and Queen asked…

He pulled at his brown curls, tugging lightly but with enough force to get his scalp tingling.

On the other hand Tova seemed adamant about killing Paz, "How foul, such a woman who is driven to kidnap a princess should be immediately eradicated from the world! Don't you think so, my prince?"

Dipper didn't know how to answer, and felt his mouth go dry. He avoided eye contact and the question all-together. Bill came up onto his shoulder once more, wrapping around his neck and nuzzling lightly, making sure that his soft feathers caressed Dipper's cheek, "Let's focus on locating the princess."

"Yeah. If she isn't with Paz then the sorceress will be unimportant to us… Mabel, can you lead us to Paz?" he lamely finished, making sure to redirect the conversation towards Mabel.

She finally jolted at being called, she was well aware of the situation before them and seemed to be at odds with herself.

"Sure. Just leave it to me!" she tried to cheerfully reply, but it came out just a tad forced.

Yes, Dipper knew of the bountiful love Mabel held for the princess. She was very clear about her feelings and loyalty to Pacifica, but if it required her to defeat her newfound friend Paz then it seemed plausible that she was suffering from some sort of internal conflict. Mabel didn't like to turn on friends or choose sides when it came to these sorts of situations, and she knew deep down that Paz wasn't evil. (But did that really excuse her from taking the princess captive? From possibly torturing her?)

Bill grunted, huffing some smoke through his nostrils and Dipper could feel the heat coming from his breath, "Stop being so caught up in the ethics or morality of things. Focus on the objective, find the princess and we'll go from there."

The twins seemed to be grounded from this but it seemed that Tova would have none of it-

"Of course a wicked beast like you wouldn't mind for morals, all you care about is getting more power. You couldn't possibly understand how we feel."

Bill's feathers ruffled, puffing up intimidatingly, but it seemed that Bill managed to keep his cool, "I'm not saying it doesn't matter, I am saying that we have certain things to achieve and these trivialities shouldn't get in the way."

Dipper was impressed with how Bill managed to reply without so much bite into his words, and Tova seemed unsatisfied but knew that there was no use fighting.

And so they set off to a secluded area in the Northwest kingdom, to which Mabel had been invited to by Paz for tea, and promised that if she ever needed to meet- here would be the place.

The tensions rose as they finally arrived, what looked like a small shop for coffees and pastries came into view, hopelessly alone and quaint.

The group entered, Mabel leading with Dipper and Bill following, and Tova trailing at the end. The shop was quite small but not too stifling. If anything it was homey, with it's luscious red-wood furniture and walls and decor that was simple but potent. Accents of lilac and white adorned the walls, and the tea sets were all in various colors, intended to please the customer with whatever colors they fancied. The flowers in the shop were all bright and large, definitely showing off what magic the owner had-

Paz simply smiled, "How nice of you to join me. Would any of you like something to drink? Maybe something sweet to also bite into-"

"Paz, we don't have time for this." Mabel cut the blonde off, scowling.

Paz seemed to be a bit taken aback by such a bold move from the knight, but easily recovered, "Of course, I'll set aside the pleasantries. You're looking for the princess, and I can assure you I do indeed have her here."

Mabel leaned into a fighting stance, but Paz paid no mind to her, instead looking at Dipper, "You've come to retrieve her, no?"

"Well…" Dipper nodded, "I do want to return her home, and make sure she returns in one piece…"

Paz smirked, crossing her arms, "Yes, but your main motivations lie in retrieving the stone, no?"

Dipper couldn't lie, and nodded, to which he saw Tova and Mabel frown. "To say I only cared about the princess without my own gain seems wrong. It's already bad enough that I am not doing this for heroic reasons, but to lie about them too is doubly worse."

Paz seems pleased, and laughs loudly, "Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful Prince Dipper. I'm glad that the beast has not tried to sway you to corroding or abandoning your morals. It's refreshing."

Dipper spares Bill a glance, to which he fails to meet the blue irises, mainly because Bill refuses to look at him. The entire party seems frustrated with him in one way or another, and Paz laughed once more, "Don't worry, Dipper isn't a completely horrible person. He's honest at least. Here, if you can unleash the stone of wisdom then I'll also release the princess."

Dipper nods, eager to continue with his original quest, but concerned about the princess, "If I can't, promise me you won't hurt the princess."

Paz frowns and waves her hand, "Sure, it'll be annoying if I am considered a murderer, and I'll assure you that she is perfectly safe. We don't even need her to unlock the stone!"

Dipper feels Bill shift on his shoulders, and making a noise of disagreement, but do nothing more after that. The prince frowns and looks at Bill, hoping that this time he'll actually look at him-

And he does, his eyes narrowing as he sends a glance to Paz. Don't trust her it says, and Dipper makes sure to keep his guard up.

Tova and Mabel try to advance, only to find themselves being tossed into chairs and served tea, "Side characters should know their place, so enjoy some tea."

Bill snarls and tries to fight against such magic, clinging to Dipper and even sinking his nails into him. Paz's eyes flare dangerously green in irritation, "Get off of him you pathetic mage."

With a flick of her wrist she finally manages to rip him from Dipper's shoulder, taking his wrist and bringing him downstairs. The basement is lonely, the floorboards creaking with their every step and full of various closed off barrels and boxes. It's also not very well lit, only a couple of faint lights illuminating the large basement. Dipper looks past the darkness and finally finds a stone pillar that houses the next stone, which glows an eerie green. He also manages to find an odd door, which seems out of place but Dipper keeps that in mind for later.

Paz let's go and begins, "I have some riddles that'll prove that you are indeed knowledgeable, and hopefully release the stone from its mount."

Dipper stays quiet and waits for further instruction, and Paz eyes pinch up in joy, "Also, I expect you to tell me where the princess is hiding after this. I have her, but you have to tell me where exactly she is."

Her eyes flash the electric emerald once more, staying luminescent in the low light as she finally begins, "Many have heard me, but no one has seen me, and I will not speak back until spoken to. What am I?"

Dipper takes a few moments to ponder before finally coming to a conclusion, "An Echo? You're an echo."

Paz nods and continues, "What can one not keep, two hold, and three destroy?"

Dipper smiles, he's heard this one from his Grunkle Stan, "A secret."

The sorceress becomes slightly miffed but shrugs him off, easily countering with the next riddle, "It lies behind rocks and rills, and under mountains and hills. It cannot be seen or felt, nor even heard or smelt. What is it?"

This one stumps the prince for a moment, and each second that passes by makes the sorceress' confidence return. Dipper shakes his head and ignores Paz, he can't be distracted by her presence. No- he had to focus.

Under mountains and hills, behind rocks and rills? Maybe dirt? No, you could feel and smell and sense dirt. Behind rocks and rills...behind rocks and rills!-

"Shadows? Or like, darkness?" he shakily replies, and Paz huffs, nodding.

"I can be flipped and broken, but I never move. I can be closed, and opened, and sometimes removed. I am sealed by hands. What am I?"

Dipper knows she must be referring to something metaphorical. It has to be, since it never moves. But what could be the answer? The boy racks his brain for some kind of hint or clue, some sort of answer to become clear to him. Sealed by hands, maybe its-

"A promise." Dipper ends and looks to Paz for confirmation.

She laughs and shakes her head, "Nope. I guess we're done here-"

"Well, no- I can definitely tell you where the princess is though!" Dipper tries to desperately to

Paz gives him a confused look, "Oh please, you can't possibly-"

"I do know! It's painfully obvious! Here, let me show you-"

Dipper takes her to the strange door he found earlier, pointing, "You have her here, don't you? I already had Bill free her of her bindings, so she can come out at my cue."

Paz rolls her eyes, "Fine, give the cue."

Dipper makes a flashy show of magic, letting it flow from his fingertips and light up the room, "She'll come through any minute now."

Paz glares at him and Dipper laughs, "So I see you don't actually have the princess captive."

Paz becomes confused at the sudden change from Dipper, "I do have her here-"

"You never looked at the door though. Or anywhere else, only at me! You're confident in your knowledge of where the princess is."

Dipper smiles as she nods, "Of course I am, and you can't possibly find her. Search the whole building, only I know where she is!"

"I don't need to go past here though, cause I think you're the princess."

Paz scoffs, crossing her arms as she gives him a dead on stare, "Oh really? That's flattering, but I'm afraid you're wrong-"

"No, I know I am right. The princess, she's quite clever actually. Mabel has told me all about her, even all the stories about how she'll disappear at convenient times. And what do you know, Mabel never sees the Princess the same days she sees you. Care to explain that? Cause it's too often to be a coincidence."

Paz fumbles and pushes Dipper back with her magic, "The princess is a blonde though! With blue eyes and is tanned! I am obviously a brunette with green eyes and fair skin, so-"

"You used a potion to mask your features. Or a cloaking spell doesn't seem out of your realm."

Paz tries again and again but Dipper manages to take apart her lies. She finally relents, "I only ask for one thing."

Dipper nods and Pacifica sighs, "Keep this a secret from Mabel please. I want to be the one to tell her."

Dipper nods and hears a thunk echo in the room. The stone has moved from the pillar and he goes to pick it up, "Thank you for helping us though. I am glad that you weren't in any actual danger."

Pacifica drops the act and lets her true form show, flipping her long hair over her shoulder, "I have Mabel to protect me, so I couldn't ever truly be in danger."

Dipper smiles at the confidence the princess has in his sister and motions to the stairs.

The newfound princess finally concedes to Dipper, joining him in returning upstairs, only to find the place a wreck-

Mabel seemed to be hiding from the fight that emerged between the dragon and Tova, who were both fatigued from the fight but unwilling to back down. At the sight of the princess Mabel comes to her side, hoping to shield her from the battle-

"Be careful you two, Bill just started going on a rampage!"

Mabel pulls Pacifica closer, and gives Dipper room to join them behind her makeshift fort. Dipper can see Tova panting but not losing his stance, fear jumps into his chest once he makes out the streaks of red on the floor and on his chin, Tova coughs a bit but refuses to take his eyes off of the beast.

Bill on the other hand seemed to be out of his mind, as his eyes were patchy with splotches of black, his eyes gleaming that horribly gorgeous cerulean. He seems to be struggling with corruption again, and Dipper rushes to cleanse the bracelet, only to be attacked head on from Bill-

"L̩̤̥̫̪̯ͪ̈́̈̌e͌t̯̤̟̦̥͍ͧͮ̇ͯͩ͌͌͡ ̦̳͇̪̦̆ͦ͞ī̫͌̔͐̑ͦt̤̲͉͙̊̓̅ ̗͕̝̣̿͌̇̒ḥ̹̮̋̆̇͂̂̿a̛͇͕͎̙͂̈́p͚̮̪͈͇͙͔͒̕p̺̖̫͕ͫ́̊ͦ́ͪ̀ͅe̴͓̬̳͓̗͕ͦͅn̷̊ͯ,͕̾̊̎̊́ ͔͚̣͎̑͊͊̽ͩ̚j͇͍̩̹͕͓̠͆ͤ͜u̮̯͔̜̻̰͢s͍̮͕̠̗͊͞t̗̩̹̬̘̘̐̊͐̽ͬ́͞ ̟̞̘̻̖̘͎ͩͣl̘̬͈ͭ͗̌e̷̤ͭ̍̍ͣͭ̄̋t̟̝̭͉̏̀ ̷͇̹̜̱̏ͫͧ͐ͅt̗͠h̫̯͈̠̥̝͚̀ͣ̆ͨ̔ẹ̇̒̇̓͊̉ ̫̪͓̥̙͒̓ͥ̈́͛́̇d͈̤̠̬̂͋͊ͣ̊̅̍a̭̝͚̯̻ͧ͋ͭͅr͈̭̖͉̤͇̿ͪ́k̼̹̠̩̹̠̐̀ṉ̙̠̒̏̈̆ȩ̦̗̰̦͎̦̊̈́ͤ̍̉̄ͥs͍͎͇̝͂̒͝s̳̗̠̗̟̈́͊̓̾̂ͪͩ͡ ̤̱̬̺̮̣ͪ̌̀ͣi͊̓̓̇n̗̄ͪͤͬ͂̂s̠̘̪̱̤̠̃̎̊͐i͕͈̗̇͋̊̂͆͗͐d̰̑͊ę̝̲̘̉̃͐̐ͮ͊̀.̻͚͇̖̭.̹͉͚͍̼̣̄̾ͤ̂͐͒͞.͕̺̍̌͑̐̽͐" Bill manages to grind out, holding Dipper down.

Dipper struggles, noticing the feral look that the dragon has and he tries to break free, "Bill! Don't fall victim to it, you know it's not real!"

Bill snarls, droplets of black sludge dripping from his mouth and his sclera becoming more and more corrupted. Tova runs and

"Ḑ̷̖͚̲͕͎̰̥͔̺̭̟̜̹̟̫̰ͬ͗͑̄̃̎̏̈́̂ͪͦ̆̊͂̀́͝ͅǫ̴̴͍̻̗͈͉̜̽ͭ̊̐̈̓ͭͤͫ̀ͭ̀n̢̢̮̜̦̣̠̝͖̞͇̺̒͛ͬ̏ͥ͂ͯ͗͂ͭ͋ͦ̈͌͋ͮ͒͐͘'̡͌̈̈́̈́ͨ͏̠̫͈̘̞̗͙̬̖̯̪͓̯̣̠͜t̡̛̖̟̯̖̤͈͎͙̥͈̗͖̮̳͑ͬͧͪͪ͋ͧ͊͝ ̶̶͗͆̌͑ͣ͑ͯ̎̉͡͞͏̪̣͚̻͉̙̤ẗ̷͎̱̞̬̗̙͇̃́͆ͪ̑ͨ̓̈ͮ̀́̚͟ą̧̥̺͕͔̃̿̈̈́̏̓̄̈ͥ̈́̑̈́̅̆ͯͮ́̒ͯ͜k̯͚̖̼̠͇̺̠̜̺̜̗̗̃͊͑̈̇ͭ͗̅̓̆̿ͦ̈͜͠ͅe̴̵̦̯̙̫͙ͤͬ͛̾̃̓͊́̿ͧͅ ̻̫̥͍̬͍̠͇͚͙̙͖͔̒̓͋̄ͯͮͬ̽͌ͬ̿̄͛̆̋͆̉́h̢̧͒ͮ̅̌͐͡҉͕̠̬͕͇̲̬͔͘i̶͉̭̯̟͔̣̰͎̠̙̟͕ͥ̆̃͛̈́̿͐ͯ͐͊̅́̎̌͋́͛͒́͢͜͡ͅm̡̮͕̩̮̹͇ͧ̅̅́̾̿ͩ̍̐͠͞ ̶̸̴̩̪̯̰̰̉ͨͨ̅̐̑ͭ́͡f͕̯̯̺̲̦̠͍̦͓̪̖ͮ͐͗̓̽̊ͣ̐̆̿ͦͫ̕ͅr̡̊ͪ͗͂̒ͮ͐͏̧̡͚̖̦͙͇̮̣̳͍̜̫̙̺̻ͅō̴̡̙̥̫͚̣̺̲̺͙ͫ̈̄̃̈́̂͊̄ͫͥ̍̾ͨͤ̆͗ͩ͟͡͡m̷̧͙̘̪̱͙̼̩̻̟̼̣̪̻̫̙ͨ̎̍̋͛ͤͩ̿ͮ̍̂̈́ͣ̒̀́̀͘ͅ ̶̃̒̔̾ͥͥ̿ͤ͑ͦͣͯ̌ͪ̂̓̾̌́҉̟̱̬̖͇͉͕̬̦͉̙̳̳̘̭m̶̡̛̩͉̘̱͖̜̘̝̙̱̔̎ͮ͐̎́̾̎̇ͮ̃̄͐͛̓̒̍ͣ̊e͓̯̤̖̪̠͈̣̩̱͖̱̗̭͚̩̫͂ͤͣ͊̇ͪ̈̓ͨ̎͆̅͑ͤͩ̐͛̚̚͢͞,̵̢̣̺͓̣̩̗̔ͣ́ͪ̏͠ ̴̥̦̱͔̼̞̤̤̭̲ͦ͂ͩͫ̑ͧ͗ͫͭ̀̅̽̒ͣ́̚ͅͅp͈̩͖̠̹̥̓ͣ̚͟l̵̶̡̗͎͎̗̖̱̬̤̜̪̰̱̠͎̱̜̿ͧ͂ͯ̅̍́̌̉͑ͭ͊̄͛ͤͅe͑̌ͭͮͥ͒̓͆ͯͩͩͫͪ̎͂̑ͪ҉̟̬̤̱̕͞͞a̵̡̨͉̦̹͈̪̲͕͊̀ͣ̐ͧ̇́ͨ̈́͌̈̀̚ͅs̸̟̯̤̥̺̙͎̮̫͈͎͕̞̪ͪͭ̎̾͗ͮ̿ͭ̋͟͠͡e̴̢̯̫͚̺͔̣͈͖̳̘̦̠͗̾̈́ͣ͛ͩͨ̈́̔̽͊͊̕͞͠!̴͊ͩ͛̌ͨͯ̉ͯͪ́̏̾͋͋ͣ̈́͘҉̸̶̭̞̬͎̣ ̴̰̥͙͖̃̈͑ͩ̀͒̾̽̓̀̚͢͡I͙̦̪͈͇̘̳̰̬͖̘͕͕͕̠ͮ̏͐ͫͥ̎̊̈́͑͋̽̿͘͟͝ ̸̶̛̺̯̠̪̭̣̮̣̦̠͗ͣͥͣ̉͐͋͒̌ͦͬͥ̒̈͟͝nͭ̎̈̆͆̈́ͥ̍͒̋̍͏̟̲͎̝̯̦̙͍͚̘̱̜̥͔͜ͅe̶ͯ̅̏̈́͐̉̋͐͏͔̼̟̬̼e͓̱̰̠̗̮̦͈̠̠̜̜̮̯̲̫ͣ͆ͥ̉̍̾͋͛̅̿́́ͧ͗ͯ͐͆̕͜ͅḑ͓̯̲͉̫̪͖̼̗ͫ̊ͣ̇ͩͦ̂͌͊̚͘͡ ̡͍̣̯͓̿͆ͨ̓̑̄̀ͦ͞h͛ͯ͑́ͫ̉̽̒͂̏ͧ̊̇̃ͩ̒̃̀҉̷̠͎̗̯͔̫̫͢͞ͅi̠̦͚̰̘̺̪̫̫̙̗ͭͦ̿͋ͨ̒ͧ̓̈ͫ̅ͮ̐́͜͠͡m̂ͦ̅̉̏ͨ̒ͭͨ̿̿ͨͩ̄̃̀̓͊̆͏̡͏͎̼̩̫!̦̣̭͓̥͓̪̩͇̜͉̪̗̥̮̲̻͇̍̆͐͛̂̾̋ͪ͑̒̃̍̀̀ " he screeches, and Tova doesn't stop

slamming him against the wall.

Once Dipper recovers he scrambles to find the stone, he needs to purify the bracelet before Bill loses himself completely. Mabel leaves the fort to help him look, finally managing to see where it is and just narrowly dodging the fight to retrieve it.

"Dipper, catch!" she yells, tossing him the stone.

He fumbles a bit with the catch but finally gets a grip, his hands shaking as he finally gets to purifying the bracelet. The second it is complete he looks over at Bill, whose eyes clear up and return to their normal color-

Bill stops fighting, dodging Tova's onslaught and returning to Dipper, "Sorry about that… We should hurry onto the next kingdom."

Dipper doesn't let him climb onto his shoulder, frowning down at the reptile, "Why didn't you say the corruption was getting bad for you? I thought I was the only one who would lose myself!"

"Well you needed to be thinking straight, so I might have tried taking the burden for awhile, alright! I knew my timing was fine though, so it worked out."

"No Bill, this isn't about it all 'working out'. This was dangerous! If Tova wasn't here then we could have all been killed!"

Bill looks offended, "I wouldn't have-"

Dipper finally feels his anger leave his hold, "Look around! This place is a mess! And that doesn't even account for the damage you did to Tova!"

Bill can't fight that as he sees Pacifica and Mabel already helping Tova stand, and Dipper scoffs, "Just heal him and let's get the princess back, yeah?"

The crew patch themselves up and head out, to which Bill isn't allowed to touch any of them.

"Hey Dipper, is Bill ok? That crazy rampage thing seemed to be so sudden! Don't tell me he's done this before-" Mabel begins, but Dipper reassures her otherwise.

"No, he hasn't done this. It's cause he got cocky and thought he could take the curse head on by himself. It was stupid, but at least he won't try it again."

Mabel rubs her hands nervously, bravely continuing, "Isn't this a bit much though? He made a mistake, but he had good intentions."

"He should have talked to us about it, or at least me! He never lets me in on what he's thinking, he just tells me what to do, and it's so annoying! Look, he even went out again now without saying anything! Always doing just whatever he wants!" he feels himself growing too heated and tries to breathe, and calm down.

"Animals are often like that Dipper, they have no regard for others." Tova cuts in, all healed and with a tray of drinks for all of them. Dipper takes the cool drink thankfully and doesn't bother to check what it is before taking a swig, coughing as the alcohol slides down his throat-

Tova laughs and pats his back, "I probably should have warned you first my prince, I apologize. It isn't all that bad though once you are aware of what it is."

Dipper flushes and tries again, hoping that Tova doesn't see him to be too much of a child from the lack of experience with alcohol. Once he takes a smaller sip it isn't too bad, there's a small sting but it's easily followed by a smooth sweetness that catches his fancy.

"You're actually quite right! I should have been more aware though instead of letting my anger get the best of me."

Mabel declines the drink and frowns as Dipper takes hers, trying to reach out to him only to have Tova dominate the boy's attention. 

Pacifica calls for her and she sighs, saying her good byes, "We leave so she can attend a meeting, so I probably won't see you off tomorrow."

Dipper hugs her and makes sure to send her off with their usual luck bond, speaking in unison, "May we cross paths again."

"Dipper," Mabel starts quietly, making sure they are alone, "I don't like Tova. And Bill is dangerous, so please be careful brother."

He nods, "Don't worry, I can take care of myself. You take care as well, and don't be too reckless."

Mabel squeezed his hands, "I really don't like Tova though! I...I don't think you should keep him around-"

"Mabel, he's good! If he wasn't there for the fight then you would have been hurt!"

"I know, but he isn't genuine. Paz warned me about him, and I...I'm not sure but I think Tova might have triggered Bill-"

"What? No, there's no way! That curse was only between me and Bill, Tova has no control over that. Stop trying to blame him."

Mabel opens her mouth to counter and the guards call her once more, "Look, just trust me on this. Maybe he didn't trigger it but he wasn't helping. They were arguing before it happened-"

"Mabel Pines, please report now or we shall leave you." came the strong command and Mabel finally pulls away, "Be careful Dipper, just...be careful."

Dipper waves and returns to his room, finding a note from Pacifica that they have access to her family's libraries if they need help finding solutions to the curse or anything else they wish.

He goes to bed that night with plans of finding out who exactly William Cipher was and how he could beat this curse.

Bill informed them that they could only spare another couple hours in the Northwest Kingdom, so Dipper scouted Tova to aid him in his search of the answers to his questions, providing him with lovely company.

Dipper spent his last couple hours in the Northwest's library, combing through the texts with his magic and trying to see if anything new comes up. Tova assists, since Dipper's radius can't possibly cover the entirety of the giant library. The same things come up again and again, like a mantra in his head-

William Cipher was born in the Mindscape Kingdom. William Cipher joins the Cipher Royal Guard. William Cipher is well versed in magic.

It seems that despite his talents, Bill has not made much of a name for himself. There was a couple more stacks of books ready to be combed through on Dipper's end, each approximately ten books high. He sighs, this was still a pain, especially since it was growing more and more tedious as they continued.

He's about to start on a new stack when Tova stops him, gesturing at one of the books-

"Dipper, come look at this. I think I've found something that's upsetting…"

The prince frowns and takes the book from his knight, glancing over the highlighted portion, reading aloud softly-

"William Cipher of the Royal Guard was a native to the Mindscape Kingdom and more than eligible to join the Cipher Royal Guard. William was hardworking and generous, loving to all those who came to him and never turned away anyone in need. Such a genuine and caring person should be venerated, but alas his duty to his people has taken him from us. Let us remember him as the wonderful person he is, and stay strong in his wake. He will be greatly missed, not only as our protector, but as our prince as well..."

Dipper realizes that this was a collection of obituaries from long ago, and he feels his skin crawl with the realization.

"Oh…" is all he begins with, trying to make sense of the situation, "So Bill is technically dead?"

Tova nods, but continues with another book, "What I don't understand though is how Bill is able to continue existing though. Like, if he's dead and he wants to return to his previous body, then he would basically be performing suicide…"

Dipper sees where Tova's going with this and immediately feels something akin to fear rise up in his chest, "No. He's probably going to be fine once the curse is lifted."

"Right?" Tova starts, "So I think Bill's lying about who he is."

Dipper shakes his head, stubbornly fighting against Tova's conclusion, "Tova, I don't think he's bad! Sure he's powerful and possibly dangerous, but not evil!"

Tova nods, "I thought you might say that, so I investigated a bit more."

He presents another book, and points out one of the passages, which is accompanied by a picture of a triangle with a single eye-

"This is a demon I found when looking up the name Bill. He's dangerous and incredibly persuasive, and is known to befriend his victims."

Dipper stares at the page, the symbols associated with Bill very similar to the symbol on the back of his spell book, and he hates where this is going-

"And look, Bill is able to take power from his victims if they collect three objects for him. What are you collecting-"

"Three magical binding stones." Dipper harshly replies.

"Right, sounds too close to be coincidence, right?" Tova sees how bothered Dipper is becoming and sighs, "Look, I could be wrong about this but it's just too obvious to ignore. I don't like this guy, but if he's a demon then I can't let him hurt you."

Dipper nods and tries to find a way to possibly reveal Bill's true form…

"Comb through, spells in assist with the Lens of Truth."

A couple of books come to Dipper's side, and he and Tova go through them until one of the spells seems useful-

"Okay, so if you use the Lens of Truth and I cast the Identification Spell on top of it, there's no way Bill will be able to deny us his true form."

Tova sees how Dipper's hand shakes and he takes it in his larger hand, "Don't worry my prince, this will simply let us find the truth."

They waited till they were leaving the Northwest residence, and heading towards the Mindscape Kingdom. Of course such a trip could not be made in a day, so they set up camp at sunset, and Tova signaled Dipper to get the Lens and activate it.

The leathery handle was in his grasp and yet he couldn't really feel it. It was all so surreal, but also somewhat grounding? He'd be able to see what Bill looked like-

Tova's light green magic wrapped around the lens, creating a halo effect on the object and Dipper swallowed hard. Now, all he had to do was point it at Bill and look through it.

Bill was setting up a campfire, and was trying to make the pit as controlled as possible, his back turned to where the pair were hiding behind some trees. Dipper took a deep breath before looking through it and cringing at the image.

Bill was a floating triangle.

He had a small fancy hat and what seemed like chains wrapped around his pitch-black wrists. His body glowed gold like his scales, and his lower half seemed to section off into brick-like structures. Bill's limbs were thin and pitch black, and soon his tiny hand lit with blue fire as he tossed it to the wood-

Dipper took off the lens of truth grabbed Tova's hand, "Let's switch, you look through the lens and I'll cast the spell. Just to confirm that what I saw was real."

Tova nodded, a sad look coming over his expression at Dipper's blatant denial.

Again they set it up, and Tova looked through, "I see the demon from the book."

The prince is silent beside him, trying to digest the information. Tova begins again, "We need to kill him, my prince. He is too dangerous to be left alone-"

Dipper sighed and grabbed the lens again, "I can't believe this…"

Tova wasn't able to react fast enough, and sprinted after Dipper, hoping he could convince the boy to let go of his feelings and do the right thing.


End file.
